Tech roller-coaster pushes Nasdaq to best week in three years as Trump tariffs create extreme volatility
The wild week is over for technology stocks and the broader market.
Aliver
Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang delivers the keynote for the Nvidia GPU Technology Conference at the SAP Center in San Jose, California, on March 18, 2025.
Brittany Hosea-Small | Reuters
The wild week is finally over for technology and the broader market.
The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite jumped 7% this week for its best week since 2022 as investors reckoned with market turbulence spurred by tariff uncertainty. Between Tuesday and Thursday, the Nasdaq fell more than 2%, then soared 12%, before dropping over 4% and finishing the week with a 2% rally.
Megacap technology stocks also capped off a winning week, led by Nvidia. The chipmaking giant surged more than 17% for its best week since August, while Amazon popped more than 8%. Alphabet, Microsoft and Meta Platforms all jumped nearly 8%. Tesla, which had its best session since 2013 added more than 5%. Apple, also gained 5% and recorded its best day since 1998 this week.
Stocks are wrapping one of the wildest trading weeks in recent history. Markets climbed Wednesday after Trump announced a 90-day pause on some reciprocal tariffs. The S&P 500 posted its third-largest one-day gain since World War II, while the Nasdaq had its second-best session ever. Major averages reversed course Thursday, giving up some gains as Trump singled out China with higher tariff rates.
The new calendar year has been rocky for technology stocks once responsible for pushing the market to new highs. Many tech leaders also trekked to Washington to support Trump on inauguration day. But all members of the elite "Magnificent Seven" have dropped in market value this year. Tesla has led the declines, shedding more than a third of its value.
Other technology stocks joined in on the week-to-date rally. Palantir skyrocketed nearly 20%, while AppLovin jumped about 14%. Oracle and Salesforce added about 3% and 6%, respectively.
Many semiconductor stocks are also tracking for a positive week. The VanEck Semiconductor ETF rose 11% and had best day ever on Wednesday. Broadcom led the chipmaking gains, soaring 24%. Applied Materials, KLA Corporation and Lam Research rallied at least 14% each. Taiwan Semiconductor, Advanced Micro Devices and Qualcomm edged up at least 7%.
