Nasdaq 100 logs worst quarter in three years - Here’s what’s driving the drop

Seeking Alpha News (Tue, 01-Apr 8:37 AM)

The Nasdaq 100 (NDX) index just had the worst quarterly performance in the first quarter of 2025 in nearly three years.

The tech-skewed index, which features heavyweights like Apple (AAPL) -11.3% YTD, Microsoft (MSFT) -10.9%, Amazon (AMZN) -13.3%, and Nvidia (NVDA) -19.3%, fell 8.3% in Q1, while the broader Nasdaq Composite (COMP:IND), which shares many components with the Nasdaq-100, fell by approximately 10.5%.

Both the Nasdaq Composite and S&P 500 had their worst quarterly shows since 2022. The indices, along with Nasdaq 100, have been rattled by uncertainties around trade policies amid a dizzying back-and-forth of tariffs and countertariffs between the U.S. and some of its closest trading partners.

Fears of an economic slowdown have also weighed on investor sentiment this quarter, but the Nasdaq 100 has been particularly hit by tech sector weakness. For instance, Tesla's (TSLA) shares dropped by 43%, and Nvidia's (NVDA) shares fell by nearly 23% during the quarter.

The tech sector was rattled in the quarter by rising concerns of overinvestments into AI infrastructure and the launch of DeepSeek’s R1 model, recognized for its performance that matched leading American AI models despite being developed with fewer and less-advanced chips.

Here were the top winners and losers in the Nasdaq 100 this quarter:

Winners:

  • Exelon (EXC) +22.4%
  • PDD Holdings (PDD) +22%
  • Gilead Sciences (GILD) +21.3%
  • T-Mobile Us (TMUS) +20.8%
  • O'Reilly Automotive (ORLY) +20.8%
  • Vertex Pharmaceuticals (VRTX) +20.4%
  • Amgen (AMGN) +20.1%
  • American Electric Power (AEP) +18.5%
  • Mondelez International (MDLZ) +13.6%
  • Coca-Cola Europacific Partners (CCEP) +13.3%

Decliners:

  • Trade Desk (TTD) -53.4%
  • Marvell Technology (MRVL) -44.3%
  • Tesla (TSLA) -35.8%
  • ON Semiconductor (ON) -35.4% 
  • Datadog (DDOG) -30.6%
  • Broadcom (AVGO) -27.7%
  • Lululemon Athletica (LULU) -25.9%
  • Mongodb (MDB) -24.6%
  • PayPal (PYPL) -23.5%
  • Applovin (APP) -18.2%

Here are some Nasdaq-100 (NDX) and Nasdaq Composite (COMP:IND) focused exchange traded funds: (NASDAQ:QQQM), (NYSEARCA:QLD), (NASDAQ:TQQQ), (NYSEARCA:QID), and (NASDAQ:SQQQ).