Wall Street gave a downbeat performance last week. The S&P 500, the Dow Jones and the Nasdaq Composite lost 1.4%, 0.2% and 1.5%, respectively.  Uncertainties related to the upcoming U.S. presidential election, mixed tech earnings and downbeat jobs data probably kept investors’ optimism at bay.

The U.S. economy added 12,000 jobs in October, down sharply from September and below the Dow Jones estimate of 100,000, as quoted on CNBC. The Boeing strike is likely to have withdrawn 44,000 jobs in the manufacturing sector, while hurricanes are also likely to have weighed on the total job creation.

Against this backdrop, we highlight a few winning leveraged exchange-traded funds (ETFs) of last week.

Winning Leveraged ETFs of Last Week in Focus

ProShares UltraShort Bloomberg Natural Gas (KOLD) – Up 26.7%

Natural gas prices slumped about 7% last week, leading to huge gains in this inverse leveraged natural gas ETF. Warm U.S. weather lowers heating demand into mid-November. High daily production at 102.8 Bcf puts the natural gas market in oversupply, increasing downward pressure on prices. Geopolitical calm also added to the downtrend in natural gas prices.

GraniteShares 2x Short TSLA Daily ETF (TSDD) – Up 16.8%

The Tesla TSLA stock slumped 7.8% last week, adding to gains in the inverse leveraged Tesla ETF.  TSLA jumped post earnings and most of the good news associated with the earnings release is probably priced in at the current level. Analysts are still skeptical about future gains in Tesla shares (read: Should Netflix Replace Tesla in "Mag 7"? ETFs in Focus).

Based on short-term price targets offered by 35 analysts, the average price target for Tesla comes to $217.36. The forecasts range from a low of $24.86 to a high of $315.00. The average price target represents a decline of 13% from the closing price of $249.85 recorded on Oct. 31, 2024.

MicroSectors Gold Miners -3X Inverse Leveraged ETNs (GDXD) – Up 12.3%

Gold prices slumped marginally last week after gaining more than 2% in the past month. As gold bullion slumped last week, gold mining stocks that normally act as leveraged plays of the underlying metal also nosedived. While gold bullion ETF GLD lost 0.2% last week, gold mining ETF GDX retreated 3.7%. No wonder inverse leveraged gold mining ETF GDXD surged last week.

Direxion Daily Semiconductor Bear 3x Shares (SOXS) – Up 11.2%

Semiconductor ETF SOXX, which follows the ICE Semiconductor Index,lost 3.9% last week due to the Advanced Micro Devices AMD stock’s fall of 10.5%. The stock slumped as AMD’s Q4 outlook disappointed. As a result, inverse leveraged SOXS ETF, which also followed the ICE Semiconductor Index, jumped last week.