Week (February 24 - 28) in Review: Financial Leaders
The week of February 24-28, 2025, was marked by significant market volatility influenced by geopolitical tensions and economic policy shifts. U.S. President Donald Trump's announcement of impending tariffs—25% on Mexican and Canadian goods and an additional 10% on Chinese imports—set to commence on March 4, led to widespread market reactions. These tariffs not only affected traditional financial markets but also had a pronounced impact on cryptocurrencies, with Bitcoin experiencing a sharp decline of over 7%, falling below the $80,000 mark.
In response to the announced tariffs, global markets experienced heightened volatility. Inverse (short) ETFs saw notable gains as investors sought protective measures against anticipated market downturns. The ProShares UltraPro Short QQQ (SQQQ) rose by 15.75%, the Direxion Daily S&P 500 Bear 3X ETF (SPXS) increased by 7.93%, and the ProShares UltraPro Short S&P500 (SPXU) climbed by 7.87%. Conversely, major cryptocurrencies faced significant losses; Bitcoin (BTC) dropped by 15.80%, Ethereum (ETH) decreased by 19.77%, and XRP fell by 20.39%.
The financial sector demonstrated resilience amid the turbulence, with the iShares MSCI Europe Financials ETF (EUFN) gaining 2.55%. The real estate sector also showed positive movement; the Cohen & Steers Quality Income Realty Fund (RQI) increased by 1.94%, and the Invesco KBW Premium Yield Equity REIT ETF (KBWY) rose by 1.87%. In contrast, the technology sector faced challenges, as evidenced by declines in the First Trust NASDAQ-100-Tech Sector ETF (QTEC) by 6.44%, the iShares Semiconductor ETF (SOXX) by 8.36%, and the ARK Innovation ETF (ARKK) by 9.32%.
European markets remained relatively stable during this period. The JPMorgan BetaBuilders Europe ETF (BBEU) experienced a marginal increase of 0.05%, while the WisdomTree Europe Hedged Equity ETF (HEDJ) and the iShares Core MSCI Europe ETF (IEUR) saw slight declines of 0.06% and 0.07%, respectively. In contrast, Latin American markets faced more pronounced downturns; the iShares MSCI Brazil ETF (EWZ) decreased by 2.98%, and the VanEck Brazil Small-Cap ETF (BRF) fell by 5.69%. North American markets were not immune to the volatility, with the Invesco QQQ Trust (QQQ) declining by 4.91%.
Summary
The financial landscape during the week of February 24-28, 2025, was characterized by significant fluctuations driven by geopolitical developments and economic policy announcements. While certain sectors and regions demonstrated resilience, the overarching trend was one of caution and market correction. Investors are advised to stay informed and consider diversification strategies to navigate the ongoing volatility.
Momentum Indicator for SQQQ turns positive, indicating new upward trend
SQQQ saw its Momentum Indicator move above the 0 level on February 21, 2025. This is an indication that the stock could be shifting in to a new upward move. Traders may want to consider buying the stock or buying call options. Tickeron's A.I.dvisor looked at 74 similar instances where the indicator turned positive. In of the 74 cases, the stock moved higher in the following days. The odds of a move higher are at .
Technical Analysis (Indicators)
Bullish Trend Analysis
The Moving Average Convergence Divergence (MACD) for SQQQ just turned positive on February 24, 2025. Looking at past instances where SQQQ's MACD turned positive, the stock continued to rise in of 42 cases over the following month. The odds of a continued upward trend are .
SQQQ moved above its 50-day moving average on February 24, 2025 date and that indicates a change from a downward trend to an upward trend.
Following a 3-day Advance, the price is estimated to grow further. Considering data from situations where SQQQ advanced for three days, in of 239 cases, the price rose further within the following month. The odds of a continued upward trend are .
Bearish Trend Analysis
The RSI Indicator demonstrated that the stock has entered the overbought zone. This may point to a price pull-back soon.
The Stochastic Oscillator has been in the overbought zone for 2 days. Expect a price pull-back in the near future.
Following a 3-day decline, the stock is projected to fall further. Considering past instances where SQQQ declined for three days, the price rose further in of 62 cases within the following month. The odds of a continued downward trend are .
SQQQ broke above its upper Bollinger Band on February 27, 2025. This could be a sign that the stock is set to drop as the stock moves back below the upper band and toward the middle band. You may want to consider selling the stock or exploring put options.
The Aroon Indicator for SQQQ entered a downward trend on February 24, 2025. This could indicate a strong downward move is ahead for the stock. Traders may want to consider selling the stock or buying put options.
Industry description
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