By Brian Swint

Five years ago, the world was just settling in for extended Covid-19 lockdowns, and the stock market was about to plunge, followed by a roaring recovery. Recently, analysts at London's Hargreaves Lansdown asked, "What has changed" since the pandemic? Their answer: a lot.

Three of the S&P 500 index's top five performers over that stretch are tech companies. Semiconductor maker Nvidia tops the list with a 1,562% return, followed by server maker Super Micro Computer. Natural-gas producer EQT comes in third; cloud computing provider Arista Networks, fourth; and Axon Enterprise, which develops technology and weapons such as tasers, fifth.

The worst performers are, well, eclectic. Walgreens Boots Alliance -- the pharmacy chain that recently announced that it's going private -- comes in last with a 79% decline. U.S. chip company Intel and cosmetics company Estée Lauder follow. Medical device maker Teleflex and healthcare distributor Baxter International round out the bottom five.

"Although it has been recently hit with volatility, and a dramatic slide induced by [President Donald] Trump's trade policies, the S&P 500 has largely held on to its spectacular rebound since the pandemic selloff and is up by more than 140% since March 20, 2020," says Hargreaves' head of money and markets Susannah Streeter. "A resilient U.S. economy, the power of tech giants, and euphoria for AI investments have propelled stocks."

Write to Brian Swint at brian.swint@barrons.com

Last Week

Markets

Mark Carney, former Bank of Canada and Bank of England governor, and new Canadian prime minister, said Canada will never be part of the U.S. China's tariffs on U.S. farm goods began. President Donald Trump didn't rule out a recession and stocks plunged on Monday, which continued on Tuesday after he threatened to double steel and aluminum tariffs on Canada, then backed off. Metal tariffs began at 25% on Wednesday. Europe and Canada retaliated. February inflation slowed to 0.2%, and odds rose that Congress would keep the government open, triggering a Friday rally. On the week, the Dow industrials fell 3.1%; the S&P 500, 2.3%; and the Nasdaq Composite, 2.4%. Gold broke $3,000.

Companies

Tesla, off 50% in less than three months, warned on tariffs; cyberattacks hit Elon Musk's X and Mexico's Carlos Slim, and Canada's Ontario canceled Starlink contracts. European tariffs targeted U.S. whiskey, cosmetics, and motorcycles. Trump countered by threatening 200% European alcohol tariffs. Ford Motor said it would inject up to $4.8 billion into its German unit. DoorDash, Williams-Sonoma, Expand Energy, and TKO Group joined the S&P 500 index. Passed over: AppLovin, once hot, now not. Delta Air Lines slashed its profit forecast, sending airline stocks down.

Deals

Trump said he's talking with four possible buyers for TikTok...Reuters reported that OpenAI signed a five-year, $11.9 billion deal with cloud provider CoreWeave for artificial-intelligence services.

Next Week

Monday 3/17

The Census Bureau reports retail sales data for February. Consensus estimate is for a 0.6% month-over-month increase, after a 0.9% decline in January. Excluding autos, retail sales are expected to rise 0.3%, compared with a 0.4% drop previously. The health of the consumer has been a growing concern on Wall Street as many airlines and retailers have recently forecast weakening demand.

Wednesday 3/19

The Federal Open Market Committee announces its monetary-policy decision. The central bank is widely expected to keep the federal-funds rate unchanged at 4.25% to 4.50%. The FOMC will also release its updated Summary of Economic Projections. At the end of last year, FOMC members had penciled in about two quarter-point interest-rate cuts by the end of 2025. Traders are currently pricing in closer to three cuts by year end.

Thursday 3/20

FedEx, Micron Technology, and Nike report quarterly results.

The National Association of Realtors reports existing-home sales for February. Economists forecast a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 3.9 million homes sold, roughly 200,000 fewer than in January. Existing-home sales remain near 15-year lows.

The Numbers

43%

Global market share of U.S. arms exports over the past five years, up 23% over the previous five years.

66%

Solar power's share of all new U.S. power installed in 2024, a record at nearly 50 gigawatts.

33M

Gross tonnage of ships built in China in 2023, more than half global production. U.S. share was about 0.1%.

$200B

The costs of U.S. healthcare administration -- billing, claims processing, and prior authorizations -- in 2024.

Write to Robert Teitelman at bob.teitelman@dowjones.com

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March 14, 2025 20:06 ET (00:06 GMT)

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