Climate-related ETFs rise as U.S. stocks mostly fall

Meanwhile, the BlackRock Future Climate and Sustainable Economy ETF BECO, -0.23%, an active fund that invests in companies believed to be furthering the transition to lower greenhouse gas emissions, ended up less than 0.1% Wednesday, while the Engine No. 1 Transform Climate ETF NETZ, -0.21% gained 1%, according to FactSet data.

MarketWatch’s Rachel Koning Beals has reported that Canada’s record-breaking start to the fire season has prompted warnings that wildfires, which are made worse by the increased drought and extreme heat tied to climate change, aren’t limited to the west. Smoke from Canada’s wildfires has cast a haze in parts of the U.S., including New York City this week.

See: Air quality worsens in U.S. as Canada faces toughest wildfire season on record

“The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation has issued an Air Quality Health Advisory for all five boroughs,” New York City Mayor Eric Adams tweeted Wednesday.

Shares of clean-energy funds such as the Invesco Global Clean Energy ETF PBD, -0.35%, SPDR S&P Kensho Clean Power ETF CNRG, -0.38% and First Trust Nasdaq Clean Edge Green Energy Index Fund QCLN, -0.85% also closed higher Wednesday.

The broader U.S. stock market finished mostly down. The S&P 500 SPX, +0.11% ended 0.4% lower Wednesday, while the Nasdaq Composite COMP, +0.16% dropped 1.3% and the Dow Jones Industrial Average DJIA, +0.13% rose 0.3%, according to FactSet data.