U.S. stocks have been witnessing massive sell-offs this month as President Donald Trump announced sweeping 10% tariffs on all U.S. trading partners, with even steeper levies for countries running trade deficits with the United States.
While President Trump paused additional tariffs on most countries for 90 days on April 9—triggering a historic stock rally—China faces a steep hike, prompting fears of a slowdown in global trade and economic activity.
As a result, stocks plunged on April 10, erasing much of Wednesday’s historic rally. Investors reacted negatively to the White House’s confirmation that the effective tariff rate on Chinese goods would total 145%.
This includes a new 125% tariff on Chinese imports and an additional 20% duty imposed earlier due to the fentanyl crisis. In response, China also hit back with 125% tariff on April 11. Overall, the current U.S. tariff landscape includes a 145% tariff on all Chinese goods, 25% tariffs on aluminum, autos, and other goods from Canada and Mexico (non-USMCA), and a general 10% levy on all other imports.
The S&P 500 fell 3.46% on April 10, the Nasdaq Composite dropped 4.31%, and the Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 2.5%. Overall, SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust SPY is down 10.3% this year, the SPDR Dow Jones Industrial Average ETF Trust DIA has lost 6.6%, and the Invesco QQQ Trust, Series 1 QQQ, has retreated 12.6%.
President Trump brushed off the market turmoil, saying, “I haven’t seen it,” while trade advisor Peter Navarro dismissed the drop as “no big deal,” as quoted on CNBC. The Wall Street Journal reports Trump is aware his tariff plan could cause a recession but aims to avoid a deeper depression, the CNBC article noted.
March’s Consumer Price Index (CPI) report brought some good news. Headline inflation fell 0.1%, bringing the annual rate down to 2.4% from 2.8% in February. Core inflation (excluding food and energy) also rose just 0.1% in March, resulting in the lowest year-over-year core reading (2.8%) since March 2021. But a cooling inflation report is not of much help amid tariff tantrums.
Despite a brutal period for equities, a few exchange-traded funds (ETFs) have stood out by showing notable resilience. Below we highlight those ETFs.
iShares US Healthcare Providers ETF (IHF) – Up 13.1% This Year
The healthcare sector is a non-cyclical sector that fares better in times of distress. The sector, especially health insurance stocks, has been performing well lately.The U.S. government announced a more than 5% average increase in government reimbursement rates for 2026 Medicare Advantage plans run by private insurers, a plus for healthcare providers. Also, global trade war fears and geopolitical tensions have raised the appeal for defensive bets, thereby providing a boost to the healthcare stocks.