The S&P 500 rose on Friday, adding to a strong week of gains, as investors continued to assess a shifting global trade environment. Major tech stocks helped lift the broader market, last week.
The major averages rose on the week, recording their second positive week out of three. The S&P 500 gained 4.6%, the Dow Jones added 2.5%, the Nasdaq jumped 6.7% and the Russell 2000 advanced 4.1% last week (as of April 25, 2025).
Despite this week's rally, April has been mixed overall: the Nasdaq is now slightly positive for the month, but the S&P 500 remains down 1.5% month-to-date, and the Dow has dropped 4.5%.
Tech Giants Lead the Rally
Big tech stocks were a major catalyst on April 25. Alphabet GOOGL gained 1.7% on April 25 after the Google parent reported better-than-expected first-quarter earnings on both revenue and profit. Tesla TSLA surged 9.8%, while NVIDIA NVDA and Meta Platforms META also posted strong advances of 4.3% and 2.7%, respectively, on April 25.
Trade Tensions Keep Markets Volatile
Market volatility has remained elevated as traders react to ongoing developments in global trade policy. Uncertainty surrounds U.S.-China trade talks after China said on April 24 there were no negotiations underway, following earlier U.S. signals suggesting a possible softening in stance.
Further confusion came from President Donald Trump’s comments. In an interview published by Time magazine, Trump said he would consider it a "total victory" if high tariffs of 20% to 50% on foreign imports remain a year from now, as quoted on CNBC.
Yet in comments made Tuesday but published Friday, he also hinted at upcoming trade deal announcements "over the next three to four weeks." Speaking separately to reporters aboard Air Force One, Trump said he would not lift tariffs unless China "gives us something substantial." As of now, Trump wants China to be “open” to more U.S. goods being sold in that country, as quoted on CNBC.
Outlook: Tariff Fears May Have Peaked
Despite the ongoing uncertainty, some market strategists are optimistic. Jay Hatfield, founder and chief investment officer at InfraCap, believes the worst of the tariff-driven market swings may be over, as quoted on the above-mentioned CNBC article. He expects a positive outlook from here.
Looking ahead, Hatfield points to upcoming earnings from major hyperscaler firms like Microsoft and Amazon as key drivers for the markets in the coming week.
Trump Meme Coin Led to a Crypto Rally
The TRUMP meme coin jumped last week after teasing a private gala dinner with Donald Trump for the top 220 buyers, set for May 22 at Trump National Golf Club.The Trump family is deepening its crypto push with ventures like World Liberty Financial and a pivot by Trump Media. Trump, pledging to be "America’s first crypto president," is deemed to be easing crypto regulations. This has boosted key cryptocurrency like Bitcoin last week.
Winning ETFs of Last Week
Against this backdrop, below we highlight a few winning leveraged exchange-traded funds (ETFs) of the last week.
Tech – Direxion Daily Semiconductor Bull 3X Shares SOXL – Up 43.0%
Leveraged Nasdaq – ProShares UltraPro QQQ QQQ – Up 24%
Leveraged S&P 500 – Direxion Daily S&P 500 Bull 3X Shares SPXL – Up 17.1%
Small-Caps – Direxion Daily Small Cap Bull 3x Shares TNA – Up 14.5%
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NVIDIA Corporation (NVDA): Free Stock Analysis Report Tesla, Inc. (TSLA): Free Stock Analysis Report Invesco QQQ (QQQ): ETF Research Reports Direxion Daily S&P 500 Bull 3X Shares (SPXL): ETF Research Reports Alphabet Inc. (GOOGL): Free Stock Analysis Report Direxion Daily Small Cap Bull 3X Shares (TNA): ETF Research Reports Meta Platforms, Inc. (META): Free Stock Analysis ReportThis article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).
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