Alphabet surge and oil supply fears lift leveraged ETFs

Last week’s top-performing leveraged and inverse exchange-traded products included large gains in 2x Alphabet funds, oil-focused 3x ETNs, inverse gold strategies and leveraged cannabis funds. Direxion’s GGLL and T‑Rex’s GOOX each rose about 24%, MicroSectors’ GDXD climbed roughly 23.9%, and oil-focused 3x ETNs returned more than 12%.

Direxion Daily GOOGL Bull 2X ETF (GGLL) gained about 24.17% and T‑Rex 2X Long Alphabet Daily Target ETF (GOOX) rose about 24.05% after Alphabet reported Q1 2026 results that highlighted deeper AI integration and continued strength in search. Short-term traders increased exposure to leveraged products tied to Alphabet shares, amplifying the stock’s move.

Defiance’s IONX (Defiance Daily Target 2X Long IONQ ETF) advanced roughly 15.5% following an announcement that IonQ won a DARPA contract for quantum networking. Market participants treated the contract as a near-term catalyst for IonQ’s business outlook.

Energy-linked leveraged products posted notable gains as oil prices increased on supply concerns in the Persian Gulf. MicroSectors U.S. Big Oil 3 Leveraged ETN (NRGU) returned about 14.27% and MicroSectors Energy 3X Leveraged ETNs (WTIU) rose about 12.49% after a blockade affecting the Strait of Hormuz raised the prospect of tighter global crude supplies.

Inverse and bear-leveraged gold strategies outperformed as bullion prices fell. MicroSectors Gold Miners -3X Inverse Leveraged ETNs (GDXD) climbed about 23.86%, Direxion Daily Gold Miners Index Bear 2X ETF (DUST) rose roughly 16.14%, and Direxion Daily Junior Gold Miners Index Bear 2X ETF (JDST) gained about 13.91%. Market participants pointed to a stronger U.S. dollar, higher oil-driven inflation expectations that pushed Treasury yields up, and profit-taking as factors putting downward pressure on gold.

Direxion Daily MSCI South Korea Bull 3X ETF (KORU) returned about 14.48% as South Korean large- and mid-cap stocks rallied, led by chipmakers amid renewed AI optimism and a series of strong U.S. corporate earnings and positive economic data.

AdvisorShares MSOS Daily Leveraged ETF (MSOX) rose about 13.71% after the U.S. Department of Justice reclassified marijuana as a Schedule III controlled substance. Investors increased exposure to leveraged cannabis funds in response to the regulatory change.

Leveraged ETFs and ETNs are designed to deliver a multiple-positive or inverse-of a target index’s daily performance. These products reset daily and use derivatives and swaps to achieve their targets. The daily reset feature can cause returns over longer holding periods to differ from the index multiple because gains and losses compound each trading day. Exchange-traded notes such as several MicroSectors products are unsecured debt instruments and carry issuer credit risk in addition to market risk.

Market participants used these instruments for short-term directional exposure last week. Investors and traders should be aware of the daily-reset mechanics, the potential for rapid price swings in leveraged and inverse products, and the issuer credit risk associated with ETNs.