Trading results for 17 April 2025
The last trading day of the current week started with a touch of optimism for investors. There were two reasons for this. The first – entirely justified – was the impressive quarterly report from Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSM), the global leader in semiconductor and chip production. Indeed, if things are going well for TSM, many assumed its competitors must also be doing fine. The second reason for the uptick was, of course, Easter. Americans enjoy celebrating holidays in good spirits, and there were reasonable expectations that they would stick to that tradition once again.
And to be fair – they tried. They tried hard to head into the long weekend on a positive note. But the outcome was, to put it mildly, underwhelming. The mood was first spoiled by UnitedHealth (UNH, -22.38%), the leader in health insurance covering 29% of the U.S. market. The company lost nearly a quarter of its market capitalisation in a single day due to a discouraging quarterly report. In essence, it admitted failure in its Medicare Advantage programme for elderly people. UNH’s plunge dragged the entire Dow Jones index (DJIA-30) down, which never managed to recover and ended the day with a 1.33% loss.
Another Health Care giant, pharmaceutical firm Eli Lilly & Co (LLY, +14.30%), attempted to save the day. Its shares skyrocketed after news of successful clinical trials of new diabetes treatment pills. It was LLY that ultimately pulled the S&P 500 into the green (+0.13%), making it the only major index to close the day in positive territory.
The tech-heavy NASDAQ might also have ended in the green, were it not for NVidia (NVDA, -2.87%). Its shares continue to face pressure from sellers following the U.S. export ban on high-performance AI chips to China. As a result, the NASDAQ Composite ended slightly in the red, down 0.13%.
The ITS index family, however, performed better than their American counterparts. The ITS World Index (ITSW) of global companies gained 0.53% on the day. The ITS Shariah Index (ITSS) rose even more – nearly a full percentage point (+0.88%).
Once again, the strong geographical diversification of the ITSW portfolio deserves praise, allowing it to outperform U.S. benchmarks. The day’s TOP-5 performing stocks included companies from four regions of the world. The undisputed leader was once again U.S. pharmaceutical giant Eli Lilly (LLY), joined in the top five by American retailer Costco (COST), which came in fifth.
But that was it for the U.S. Second place went to shares of India’s largest bank, ICICI (IBN), which gained a solid 4% (+3.91%). Kazakhstan also made it to the top three – shares in Kaspi.kz (KSPI) were in high demand and rose by 3.62%. Rounding out the TOP-5 was Japan, represented by electronics veteran Sony Group (SONY), whose shares climbed 2.78%. A fine international blend of investments – just the right mix to help ITSW outperform the Americans.
Markets now head into a long weekend. Trading in the U.S. resumes Monday, while Europe and Hong Kong will stay closed until Tuesday. Unfortunately, there is still not much positive sentiment around. Uncertainty remains prevalent among market participants, and where it will ultimately lead is still anyone’s guess.