- Facebook, Apple, Netflix, and Google, aka the FANG stocks, may have a new contender: commodities.
- Amid Russia's war on Ukraine, prices of commodities like oil, gold, and wheat have surged.
- Energy companies make up a majority of the S&P 500's top performing stock this year.
This year's hottest trades aren't in tech, meme stocks, or crypto, but in commodities.
Amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, oil prices have jumped past $100 a barrel, gold prices have risen – breaking a touted correlation with bitcoin as a digital version of the yellow metal — and prices of commodities like wheat and other metals have also surged.
And all the while, once-hot tech leaders like Facebook, Amazon, Netflix, and Google — aka the FANG stocks – have largely faltered this year.
"The new FANG," NEIRG Wealth Management Founder Nick Giacoumakis told the Wall Street Journal, "is going to be fuel, agriculture, natural resources, and gold." The wealth manager did not immediately respond to Insider's request for comment.
In its report, the Journal noted that among the 25 top performers on the S&P 500 this year, 17 come from the energy sector. That includes Occidental Petroleum, which has rallied more than 60%, and Halliburton, which has risen about 40%. Oil companies Conocophillips, Exxon Mobil, Hess and Devon, are also among the best performers.
When Russia attacked Ukraine last month, the West reacted with a bevy of sanctions that have crippled Putin's economy and sent shockwaves through global markets.
Russian oil, for its part, has been largely sidelined, causing global benchmark crude futures to surge with even higher prices likely to come, according to some experts. Russia is also one of the world's largest coal producers, prompting high prices of the commodity.
Meanwhile, futures of agriculture products like wheat have also been flying, as Ukraine – which has been dubbed the bread basket of Europe — is focused on defending itself against Russian soldiers.
Amid the turmoil, traders have turned to gold, which has long been considered to be a safe-haven for risk-averse investors. And with Russia also a top producer of metals, prices of aluminum, copper, nickel and others have jumped as well.