The ETF industry saw extreme volatility in the first quarter thanks to speculations over Fed tightening and the resultant dollar strength, global growth worries, slowdown in China and upheaval in the energy space. The Fed’s indication of a moderation in U.S. growth and the country’s latest downbeat jobs data added to the market uncertainty. Investors should note that U.S. added the least number of jobs in over a year in March.

All these gave risk-off investing boost lately, pushing back the yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury notes to a two-month low. The fundamental corporate trends were equally subdued. Earnings estimates have fallen persistently over the last few months, with negative revisions being acute for Q1. But what is more striking is that the estimates for Q2 of 2015 have also seen the same trend.

As per the Zacks Earning Trends issued on March 31, 2015, earnings are expected to be down 4.3% in Q2. All these put growth prospects for the first half of the year in the negative territory. Total aggregate earnings for the S&P 500 index are likely to touch the lowest tip since Q4 of 2014.
 
The skepticism has left many sectors with severely beaten down estimates, but some managed to outperform snapping the downing trend and look to offer decent returns in the ongoing quarter, even if volatility persists.
 
Below, we highlight three lucrative sector ETFs that could be used to book some profits in this volatile market. Each offers an intriguing fundamental to protect investors’ portfolios in a tottering economy:

First Trust Consumer Discretionary AlphaDEX Fund (FXD - ETF report)

Although the broader market was almost flat in Q1, the consumer discretionary sector seemed steady. Subtle wage inflation, cheap gas prices and a low interest rate environment led to a 4.4% jump in real personal consumption expenditure of Americans in the fourth quarter of 2014, underscoring the biggest quarterly rise since the first quarter of 2006 (read: Bet on the American Consumer with These 3 ETFs).

With the macroeconomic backdrop likely to remain unchanged in Q2, consumer discretionary ETFs like FXD should log greater gains. Consumer Discretionary is one of the few sectors that is likely to log double-digit earnings growth in Q2. As of now, the sector is expected to see about 11.2% earnings gains and 4.5% revenue gains in Q2 as per the Zacks Earnings Trend. FXD is up 4.8% so far this year (as of April 2, 2015) and has a Zacks ETF Rank #1 (Strong Buy) with a Medium risk outlook.
 
First Trust NASDAQ Global Auto Index Fund (CARZ)
 
The auto industry saw tough times in 2014 only to strongly rebound in 2015. The industry is forecast to skyrocket as much as 19.6% as per the Zacks Earnings Trend in Q2, marking the second highest growth rate projected by the 16 sectors analyzed under the S&P 500 group (read:Solid Auto Earnings Put Car ETF in Focus).  

Domestic-made U.S. auto sales surged to an annualized rate of 13.7 million in March, above the consensus expectation of an increase to 13.2 million. The sector is a beneficiary of low oil prices and interest rates.  CARZ is up 9.2% so far this year and has a Zacks ETF Rank #3 (Hold) with a High risk outlook.
 
iShares U.S. Home Construction ETF (ITB -ETF report)
 
The U.S. housing market cheered investors in early 2015, logging a seven-year high new home sales data in February. The spike in the inventory along with a favorable job market and cheap energy bills probably led to this buoyancy. Moreover, the sector recently entered its key selling season and is expected to enjoy some more months of low interest rates, provided the U.S. economy keeps posting a relatively weak job data (read: Housing ETFs Building Hopes on Spring Selling).   
 
As of now, the Zacks Earnings Trend predicts a 15.4% rise in Q2 earnings and 11.2% expansion in revenues from construction companies. ITB is up about 11% so far this year (as of April 2, 2015). The fund currently has a Zacks ETF Rank #3 with a High risk outlook.