Market Performance - The S&P 500 increased by 6.4%, the Dow Jones rose by 4.2%, the Nasdaq advanced by 9.9%, and the Russell 2000 gained 10.9% in Q3 2025, with small caps receiving particular attention [1] - The Russell 2000 surged approximately 7% in August 2025, marking its fourth consecutive monthly gain and the strongest streak in over four years [1] Economic Indicators - The U.S. economy grew at a robust 3.8% pace in Q2 2025, driven by stronger consumer spending, which was an upward revision from the previously reported 3.3% growth [2][3] - The U.S. added 22,000 jobs in August 2025, which was lower than the upwardly revised 79,000 in July and below market forecasts of 75,000 [4] - The annual inflation rate in the U.S. rose to 2.9% in August 2025, the highest since January, after remaining at 2.7% in June and July [4] Federal Reserve Actions - The Federal Reserve implemented its first rate cut of 2025 in September, with a 94.6% chance of a 50-basis point cut in the upcoming October meeting [5] Trade and Tariff Developments - President Trump announced new tariffs ranging from 30% to 100% on various imported goods, effective October 1, 2025, with exemptions for certain drug manufacturers [6] AI and Semiconductor Sector - The AI sector remains strong, with notable deals including NVIDIA's partnerships with Intel, Open AI, and Alibaba, and CoreWeave's stock gaining about 12% following a $14 billion AI cloud deal with Meta [7] - Market analysts are observing that AI payoffs are lagging behind the pace of investments in the sector [7] ETF Performance - The Defiance Daily Target 2X Long RGTI ETF (RGTX) increased by 477.1%, focusing on Rigetti Computing, a leader in quantum-classical computing [9] - The Tradr 2X Long APP Daily ETF (APPX) rose by 235.3%, targeting AppLovin Corp, which provides a technology platform for app developers [10][11] - The Tradr 2X Long QBTS Daily ETF (QBTX) gained 189.9%, corresponding to D-Wave Quantum Inc.'s performance [12] - The MicroSectors Gold Miners 3X Leveraged ETNs (GDXU) increased by 152.3%, linked to the performance of gold mining stocks [13] - The Defiance Daily Target 2X Long SOFI ETF (SOFX) rose by 151.6%, focusing on SoFi Technologies, Inc. [14]
Best-Performing Leveraged ETFs of Q3
ZACKS·2025-10-01 11:01