First Trust NASDAQ Smart Grid ETF vs Materials Select Sector SPDR Fund — how do they compare? First Trust NASDAQ Smart Grid ETF trades at $179.99 (market cap $12.40B), while Materials Select Sector SPDR Fund trades at $49.23 (market cap $7.86B). The key difference: First Trust NASDAQ Smart Grid ETF is the larger of the two by market cap, and First Trust NASDAQ Smart Grid ETF is more actively traded (769,605 versus 9,786,394). Which is the better fit depends on your goals — on Pluang, investors hold First Trust NASDAQ Smart Grid ETF for 10 Days and Materials Select Sector SPDR Fund for 70 Days on average.
| GRID | XLB | |
|---|---|---|
Market Cap | $12.40B | $7.86B |
Volume | 769,605 | 9,786,394 |
Sector | Sector/Thematic | — |
52-Week High | $199.80 | $53.67 |
52-Week Low | $146.51 | $42.23 |
Typical Hold Time | 10 Days | 70 Days |
Signals from Pluang's Aura AI — not financial advice
No Aura AI signal available yet.
XLB trades at $48.98, down 1.51% for the day, with a bearish technical signal from moving averages. The materials sector ETF faces headwinds amid September's broader market weakness outside of technology. Recent analysis indicates the portfolio is heavily concentrated in chemicals (49% of assets) with construction materials appearing moderately overvalued. The fund offers low-cost exposure to large-cap U.S. materials companies but faces cyclical pricing pressures.
The materials sector shows potential from infrastructure and manufacturing trends, though much of the cyclical recovery appears priced in. Key risks include sector concentration, economic sensitivity, and competition from China in critical minerals. Analyst sentiment remains cautious with limited near-term upside potential despite long-term infrastructure tailwinds.
Trailing returns across standard periods
What Pluang investors did over the last 30 days
First Trust NASDAQ Smart Grid Infrastructure ETF seeks to track companies involved in smart grid and electricity infrastructure. Its holdings include businesses related to power networks, energy management, and grid technologies.
Read more on GRID →In seeking to track the performance of the index, the fund employs a replication strategy. It generally invests substantially all, but at least 95%, of its total assets in the securities comprising the index. The index includes securities of companies from the following industries: chemicals; metals and mining; paper and forest products; containers and packaging; and construction materials. The fund is non-diversified.
Read more on XLB →