ETF Movers and Shakers: Silver ETFs Rally As Gold Ones Stall; Defence ETFs Surge While Markets Tumble

New Delhi, Sept 8: The Indian ETF market had more to say with its underperformance/divergence than its aggregate numbers on Tuesday. For the most part, all equity-index-linked ETFs across the Nifty 50, Bank Nifty and IT spaces came off slightly with the broader market correction. But there was plenty of rotation into defensive sectors like precious metals and notably defence-linked ETFs: both popular harbingers for investors looking for safety amidst surging Iran-US tensions and weak global risk appetite.  

Perhaps the biggest theme to highlight today is the divergence within precious metals ETFs. Silver ETFs are rallying almost across the board, whereas gold ETFs are mostly struggling to register any gains on the day. This is a notable anomaly considering silver and gold typically move together during risk-off market conditions. On top of that, defence ETFs are recording some of the highest gains on this list. Energy ETFs are also ticking higher in tandem with crude oil prices. Liquid ETFs are doing their job, as usual: trading completely flat.  

ETFs tracking silver prices lead the rally  

Silver ETFs are the biggest gainers among Indian ETFs traded on Tuesday. SilverBeES, India’s largest ETF by traded value (silver), gained 0.32% to Rs 220.67 and HDFC Silver ETF added 0.32% to Rs 220.60. Tata Silver ETF gained 0.45% to Rs 22.41 while SBI Silver ETF added Rs 226.06 for a return of 0.35%. SilverAdd grew by 0.41% to Rs 22.24 and SilverCase was up by 0.39%. Aditya Birla Sun Life’s Silver ETF (SILVERAXIS) rose 0.34% to Rs 22.07. Only one silver ETF in the bunch — Silver001 — traded in the red, down 0.43%, implying that Tuesday’s silver ETF rally is broad-based and doesn’t reflect stock-specific price discovery. Silver prices have rallied by nearly 85% YTD across most ETFs on this list. Today’s upmove is simply a continuation of a strong multi-month uptrend.  

Gold ETFs barely register any moves  

Gold ETFs paint a different picture. GoldBees and Tata Gold ETF, India’s top-2 most traded gold ETFs, are both seeing 0% change on the day, priced at Rs 125.58 and Rs 14.76, respectively. Most ETFs in this basket are reporting small moves in either direction. Goldietf was up 0.07% to Rs 130.10. SETFGOLD fell 0.05% to Rs 129.49 while HDFC Gold ETF fell 0.12% to Rs 129.73. Smaller ones like GoldAxis and Choice Gold ETF bucked the trend, rising 0.22% and 0.58%, respectively. Overall, it’s a sea of blue with barely any conviction in gold ETFs, unlike silver ETFs. Even among precious metals, investor money is currently favouring silver over gold.  

Defence ETFs see the sharpest upmove in % terms  

All defence ETFs in the list are today’s best performers. Nifty India Defence ETF by Motilal Oswal (MODEFENCE) jumped 2.45% to Rs 109.87. Groww’s defence ETF (GROWWDEFNC) rose by 2.08% to Rs 99.78 while BSE India Defence-Tracking ETF added Rs 83.61 for a return of 1.91%. This sharp jump in defence ETF prices, even as the broader markets trade lower, suggests investors are looking at defence companies as outright beneficiaries of rising geopolitical tensions rather than sectored that will likely face headwinds from risk-off market conditions.  

Energy and Liquid ETFs  

Energy ETFs are also trading higher as crude oil prices extend their rally. Nifty Energy ETF (ENERGY) rose 0.68% to Rs 38.41. Motilal Oswal’s energy ETF offering (MOENERGY) gained sharper 1.00% to Rs 38.27 while Aditya Birla Sun Life Energy ETF (ENERGYAXIS) rose 0.42%. Not surprisingly, these ETFs are tracking the move in WTI and Brent crude prices, which have rallied further on Gulf shipping-route disruptions fears. Liquid ETFs are doing what they do best — offering investors a place to park their idle money. LiquidBees, Liquidcase, Liquid1 and their ilk are trading virtually flat, within a penny of their Rs 1,000 or fixed-unit NAVs. Changes ranging from 0.00% to 0.01%.  

ETF Snapshot: Silver, Gold, Defence, Liquid 

Source:

• https://www.nseindia.com/market-data/exchange-traded-funds-etf
• Silver is clearly outpacing gold today, defence is the standout mover, and liquid ETFs remain steady as always.