Technology, Communications Services Stocks Are Outpacing Broader Markets Monday: What's Going On?

Technology and Communications Services stocks are outpacing the broader market on Monday amid a volatile session for U.S. equities related to tariff headlines.

What Happened: The SPDR S&P 500 SPY continues to trade with high levels of volatility after President Donald Trump announced sweeping tariffs last week, raising concerns over higher prices for consumers, softening demand and a potential recession.

The SPDR Select Technology Fund XLK is outpacing the broader market alongside the SPDR Select Communication Services Fund XLC. The three largest holdings in the SPDR Technology fund are Apple, Microsoft and Nvidia. Meta, Alphabet and Google are the three largest weightings in the SPDR Communications fund.

Trump’s tariff announcement last week sent markets tumbling as investors feared that other countries would retaliate against the new duties. Markets continued to fall on Monday, entering bear market territory as the Trump administration showed an unwillingness to budge on tariffs.

Stocks briefly staged a massive reversal in early trading Monday after headlines circled suggesting Trump was considering a 90-day pause on tariffs. It’s not clear where the headlines originated from, but White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt confirmed the reports were false Monday morning, calling the headlines “fake news.”

China on Friday responded to Trump with 34% tariffs on U.S. imports, export curbs on some rare earths and restrictions on several U.S. organizations, deepening the trade war between the world’s two largest economies.

Ministers in the European Union are meeting on Monday to discuss how to respond to Trump’s tariffs, per Reuters. Trump has brushed off concerns about his sweeping tariff announcement. He also appeared to show little concern for the massive stock market losses over recent sessions.

“I don’t want anything to go down. But sometimes you have to take medicine to fix something,” Trump reportedly told reporters aboard Air Force One over the weekend.

Price Action: At the time of publication, the SPDR Select Technology Fund was up 0.98% at $184.15, while the SPY was up just 0.07% at $505.70. The SPDR Select Communication Services Fund was up 1.03% at $88.13 at last check, according to Benzinga Pro.

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