Wall Street ended the tariff-led chaotic week on a positive note on April 11. The S&P 500 gained 1.8% on April 11, while the Nasdaq Composite climbed 2.1%, and the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 1.5%, despite escalating tariff tensions between the United States and China (read: US-Sino Trade War Escalates: ETF Areas Under Pressure).
Biggest Weekly Gains Since 2023 Despite Being Hit by Tariffs
For the week, SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust SPY tacked in 9.1% gains, SPDR Dow Jones Industrial Average ETF Trust DIA jumped 8.2% andthe Nasdaq-100-based ETF Invesco QQQ Trust, Series 1 QQQ advanced 11.4%.
Markets experienced wild swings throughout the week, largely driven by President Trump’s fast-moving and changing tariff policy. Wednesday brought historic gains after Trump announced a temporary 90-day pause on tariffs for some 75 countries, but tariffs on Chinese goods were pushed up to 145%.
However, markets tumbled on Thursday, only to rebound on Friday. On April 11, China announced that it would raise tariffs on U.S. imports to 125%, up from the previously planned 84%, effective Saturday.
Despite the volatility, the S&P 500 and Dow posted their best weekly performances since 2023, while the Nasdaq’s 7% weekly surge marked its strongest rise since 2022, as quoted on Yahoo Finance.
The strongest performances of last week came from the Technology, Industrials, and Financials sectors. AI chipmaker NVIDIA NVDA led the "Magnificent Seven" group of tech giants higher.
Treasury Yields Spike, Dollar Slides, Gold Hits Record
Investor concerns over the U.S. economic stability and the effectiveness of traditional safe-haven assets led to major shifts in the bond and commodities markets. U.S. treasuries and the U.S. dollar could not live up to their traditional safe-haven status, continuing sell-offs.
The 10-year U.S. Treasury yields surged to 4.56%, their highest since February, amid a bond sell-off. The US Dollar Index fell below 100, signaling less confidence in U.S. assets. Meanwhile, Gold surged past $3,200 per ounce, setting a new all-time high and closing its best five-day run since 2020.
Consumer sentiment fell to its lowest point since 2022 in April, due to fears of rising inflation amid tariff developments. Many consumers now expect inflation to climb significantly in the year ahead.
ETF Winners of Last Week
Against this backdrop, below we highlight a few winning exchange-traded funds (ETFs) of last week.
Simplify Interest Rate Hedge ETF PFIX – Up 22.6%
iShares MSCI Global Gold Miners ETF RING – Up 20.2%
iShares MSCI Global Silver Miners ETF SLVP – Up 18.2%
Global X Defense Tech ETF SHLD – Up 13%
Strive U.S. Semiconductor ETF SHOC – Up 12.6%
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NVIDIA Corporation (NVDA): Free Stock Analysis Report Global X Defense Tech ETF (SHLD): ETF Research Reports Invesco QQQ (QQQ): ETF Research Reports SPDR S&P 500 ETF (SPY): ETF Research Reports SPDR Dow Jones Industrial Average ETF (DIA): ETF Research Reports iShares MSCI Global Gold Miners ETF (RING): ETF Research Reports iShares MSCI Global Silver and Metals Miners ETF (SLVP): ETF Research Reports Strive U.S. Semiconductor ETF (SHOC): ETF Research ReportsThis article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).
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