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.