Baskets: themed stock baskets and how they did

Themed stock baskets – European defence, AI infrastructure, uranium and nuclear, semiconductors and more – compared over a day, a week, a month and a year.

• S&P 500 – The 500 largest US companies – the yardstick for the rest.
• Nasdaq 100 – The 100 largest non-financial Nasdaq companies, mostly tech.
• Europe – Large and mid-size European companies.
• US small caps – Russell 2000 – small US companies, sensitive to rates and the economy.
• Bitcoin – The bitcoin price – a gauge of risk appetite.
• Semiconductors – Companies that design or make chips, the machines that make them and the software they're designed with.
• AI infrastructure and data centres – What goes into data centres after the chips: servers, networking and optics, cooling and server power, storage and the firms renting out AI compute in them. The owners of data-centre buildings…
• Big Tech – The largest US tech companies, each in many businesses at once: cloud, ads, devices, software, streaming.
• Software and SaaS – Companies that mostly sell software, usually as a subscription: for businesses, developers, data and ads.
• Cybersecurity – Companies whose main business is protecting networks, devices, identities and data.
• Fintech and payments – Card networks, payment processors, neobanks and investing and lending apps.
• Crypto companies – Companies that make their money on crypto: exchanges, bitcoin miners, a stablecoin issuer and firms holding bitcoin as their main asset.
• US defence – US companies with most of their sales from the military: weapons, aircraft, ships, drones, defence electronics and services.
• European defence – European arms makers and military suppliers: ammunition, tanks, ships, fighter jets, radars and defence electronics.
• Aircraft and engines – Makers of airliners, jet engines and their parts – mostly for civil aviation.
• Space – Rockets, satellites, satellite internet and pictures of Earth from space.
• Power grid and electrification – What gets power from the plant to where it's used: transformers, switchgear, cables, turbines and the firms building grids – and the US power producers that data centres buy from.
• Uranium and nuclear – Uranium mining and enrichment, nuclear fuel, small modular reactors and nuclear plant suppliers.
• Power producers and utilities – Companies that generate, sell and distribute electricity – in the US and in Europe.
• Oil and gas – Oil and gas producers, refiners, pipelines and oilfield services.
• Gold and silver miners – Gold and silver miners and the firms financing mines for a share of their output (royalties and streaming).
• US banks – The largest US banks: universal, investment, custody and large regional banks.
• European banks – Large European banks. Czech banks are in the Prague Stock Exchange basket.
• Pharma – Large drug makers with many medicines on the market, obesity drugs included.
• Biotech – Biotech companies: medicines from cells, genes and antibodies, vaccines and diagnostics.
• Medical devices – Surgical robots, implants, heart and diabetes devices and hospital equipment.
• Robotics and automation – Industrial robots, factory and warehouse automation, sensors and machine vision.
• Chinese internet and tech – Chinese online shopping, social media, games, search, food delivery, travel, smartphones, electric cars and batteries: shares that move mostly with China.
• Electric vehicles and batteries – Makers of electric cars outside China and of the lithium batteries are made of. The Chinese ones are in Chinese internet and tech: they move mostly with China.
• Luxury – Luxury fashion houses, jewellery, watches, cosmetics and sports cars.
• Travel and leisure – Booking sites, hotels, cruise lines and airlines.
• US homebuilding – US homebuilders, home-improvement retailers and makers of building materials.
• Consumer staples – What people buy in good times and bad: food, drinks, household goods and tobacco. Walmart and Costco are in Shops and restaurants: they move with it.
• Real estate (REITs) – Companies that own and rent out property (REITs): warehouses, flats, shopping centres, hospitals and care homes, offices, phone towers, data centres and casinos.
• Chemicals – Industrial gases, paints and coatings, plastics, food ingredients and construction chemicals.
• Metals and mining – Copper, iron ore and aluminium mining and steelmaking. Gold and silver have a basket of their own.
• US health insurers – US health insurers and the firms running the state programmes Medicare and Medicaid.
• Insurers – Property, car and liability insurance, life insurance and reinsurers.
• Telecoms – Mobile operators, broadband and cable in the US and Europe.
• Shops and restaurants – US store chains, clothes and sportswear, cosmetics and restaurants.
• Machinery and transport – Construction and farm machinery, industrial equipment, trucks, railroads and parcel carriers.
• Prague Stock Exchange – Shares traded on the Prague Stock Exchange that Yahoo knows. Erste is in the European banks basket.