The ceasefire trade just took over global markets

The world’s gone risk-on

The market had one of those weeks where every chart looks like it drank three espressos. The S&P 500 closed above 7,000 for the first time, and it didn’t go up alone — five country ETFs hit all-time highs in the same window, according to CountryETFTracker.com.

What’s behind the sprint?

A big chunk of the mood shift came after President Donald Trump announced a two-week ceasefire with Iran on March 31. Since then, investors have been acting like the “geopolitical headache” tab got closed, at least for the moment. Lower conflict risk plus softer oil pressure? That’s catnip for global equities.

The record-setters were:

• Taiwan’s EWT, helped by TSM’s strong quarter and AI-data-center demand
• Israel’s EIS, with Tower Semiconductor doing the heavy lifting
• Finland’s EFNL, where Nokia has gone from forgotten to “wait, is that a 15-year high?”
• Poland’s EPOL, riding defense-spending and nearshoring enthusiasm
• The Netherlands’ EWN, where ASML keeps being ASML

The bigger takeaway

This wasn’t just a U.S. rally with a passport. It was a broad risk-on move that rewarded chipmakers, defense-adjacent names, and energy-import-heavy markets all at once. In other words: when the macro fog lifts, the market doesn’t walk — it sprints.

Big picture:

If you’ve been waiting for a clean read on what investors love right now, it’s this: less war premium, more AI premium, and a whole lot of “show me the earnings.”