Rising oil prices continued to rattle the global market last week. The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 1.7%, entering correction territory – defined as a drop of more than 10% from its peak. The Nasdaq Composite declined 2.1%, deepening its correction. The S&P 500 also dropped about 1.7%, marking its fifth successive weekly loss and marking the longest losing streak since 2022, as quoted on Yahoo Finance.

The recent spike in oil prices, thanks to tensions in the Middle East, led to this market chaos. The outlook now depends on the duration of the disruption and the extent of physical damage to energy infrastructure. With infrastructure already impacted, oil prices are unlikely to return to pre-war levels anytime soon.

Big Tech Rout Deepens Market Losses

The “Magnificent Seven” mega-cap stocks led the downturn, shedding over $330 billion in market value in a single session and roughly $870 billion over the week, as quoted on Yahoo Finance. Shares of tech behemoths declined, while Meta shares were particularly hit by a landmark ruling tied to social media addiction concerns.

Oil Tops $100 Amid Middle East Escalation

Markets remain on edge as attacks continue across the Middle East, with fears that the conflict could stretch into April and beyond. The halt in traffic through the Strait of Hormuz is adding to concerns about global economic disruption, as per the abovementioned source.  The scenario could add to the global inflationary pressure, which, in turn, is likely to keep rates higher for longer – a situation not conducive to growth sectors like technology.

Trump Delays Action, Signals Possible De-escalation

President Donald Trump extended the deadline for Iran by 10 days, giving it until April 6 to meet U.S. demands or face potential strikes on power infrastructure. While the move hints at a possible path toward de-escalation, uncertainty remains high for any resolution.

Winning ETFs in Focus

Against this backdrop, below we highlight a few winning ETFs of the last week.

Shipping

Breakwave Tanker Shipping ETF (BWET Quick QuoteBWET - Free Report) – Up 19.1% last week

The underlying Breakwave Tanker Futures Index follows the near-dated futures market on a constant rolling basis. The expense ratio of the fund is 3.50%.          

Lithium Miners

Sprott Lithium Miners ETF (LITP Quick QuoteLITP - Free Report) – Up 13.8% last week

The underlying Nasdaq Sprott Lithium Miners Index seeks to track the performance of companies that derive at least 50% of their revenue and assets from mining, exploration, development, or production of lithium. The fund charges 65 bps in fees.

Single Stock ETF

YieldMax Short COIN Option Income Strategy ETF (FIAT Quick QuoteFIAT - Free Report) – Up 12.6% last week

The YieldMax Short COIN Option Income Strategy ETF is an actively managed exchange-traded fund that seeks current income while providing indirect inverse exposure to the share price of the common stock of Coinbase Global, Inc. The expense ratio of the fund is 1.00%.

Materials ETF

ProShares S&P Global Core Battery Metals ETF (ION Quick QuoteION - Free Report) – Up 6.5% last week

The underlying S&P Global Core Battery Metals Index composes of companies which derived positive revenue and had positive production value, in aggregate, from the mining of lithium, nickel or cobalt over the previous year, and have a minimum market capitalization of at least $100 million USD, and meet certain liquidity requirements. The fund charges 58 bps in fees.

Volatility

iPath Series B S&P 500 VIX Short-Term Futures ETN (VXX Quick QuoteVXX - Free Report) – Up 17.4% last week

The underlying S&P 500 VIX Short-Term Futures Index Total Return offers exposure to a daily rolling long position in the first and second month VIX futures contracts and reflects views of the future direction of the VIX index at the time of expiration of the VIX futures contracts comprising the Index. The fund charges 89 bps in fees.