The strong momentum seen in 2017 has carried over into this year with higher optimism for a new tax structure, bizarre jump in oil prices, rounds of upbeat economic data and another strong quarter for corporate earnings. Manufacturing activity, as measured by the Institute for Supply Management, increased more than expected in December with the second-highest reading in six years. Construction spending hit record highs in November with broad-based gains in both private and public outlays.

Earnings Trends while it is expected to grow 11% per the earnings factsheet.

While every corner of the market is enjoying the ascent, high-beta stocks and ETFs are outperforming.

Why?

Beta measures the price volatility of the stocks or funds relative to the overall market. It has a direct relationship to market movements. A beta of more than 1 indicates that the price tends to move higher than the broader market and is extremely volatile while a beta of less than 1 indicates that the price of the stock or fund is less volatile than the market.

That said, high-beta stocks seek to capitalize on continued growth with market-beating returns. This is because when markets soar, high-beta stocks experience larger gains than the broader market counterparts and thus, outpace their rivals. However, these exhibit a higher level of volatility.