It's only May, but already this year, America's NASDAQ-100 Index (NASDAQ: NDX) has been in both a bear market and a bull market. The latter only just occurred.
If you need a refresher, a bear market is defined as a peak-to-trough drop of 20% or more for a flagship index from its most recent high. Between 19 February and 8 April, the Nasdaq 100 fell by 22.9%, marking its first bear market since the tightening tumble of 2022.
However, that bear market was short-lived. Since 8 April, the index has now rebounded by a rosy 24%, including last night's healthy 1.58% rise. Thanks to the strong gains we've seen this week, the Nasdaq 100 is now up 22% from that 8 April low. This means that the index has now entered a bull market, which is defined as a 20% rise from the most recent low.
But which ASX exchange-traded funds (ETFs) have benefited the most from the Nasdaq 100's new bull market? That's what we'll be diving into today.
The ASX ETFs benefitting from the Nasdaq bull market
The Nasdaq is one of two major stock exchanges that represent the US markets. The other is the New York Stock Exchange. The Nasdaq is well-known for hosting most of the major American tech companies, including the likes of Apple, Microsoft, Amazon, Alphabet, and Tesla.
When it comes to ASX ETFs, the most obvious candidate is, of course, the BetaShares Nasdaq 100 ETF (ASX: NDQ). This index fund mirrors the Nasdaq 100 index itself, minus some financial stocks. As such, those major US tech stocks make up a huge chunk of this ETF.
Since 7 April, NDQ units have joined the bull market and have risen by a healthy 19%.
This index fund also had a hedged iteration in the BetaShares Nasdaq 100 Currency Hedged ETF (ASX: HNDQ). This ETF is identical to NDQ, but mitigates the effects of currency movements using hedging. HNDQ units are up 28% from that 7 April low.
But this isn't the only ASX ETF that has benefited from the Nasdaq 100's return to bull market mode. Another fund that has ridden this index's coattails is the Global X FANG+ ETF (ASX: FANG). Instead of holding dozens of individual Nasdaq-listed stocks, this ETF holds just ten. However, nine of those then stocks are all Nasdaq heavyweights. There are all seven of the 'Magnificent Seven' tech giants, including those listed above. In addition, FANG also offers exposure to Netflix, Broadcom, and CrowdStrike Holdings.
Since 7 April, FANG units have vaulted 29% higher.
Those are the ASX ETFs that have seen the most gains as a result of the new bull market the Nasdaq 100 Index has entered into. However, since the Nasdaq's largest holdings are also the largest companies on the US markets, any US-based market ETF would have also benefited enormously. Let's see if this new bull market holds out for the rest of 2025.
