Trading results for 15 May 2025
Many expected strong growth to continue, in line with the positive trend seen earlier in the week. Thursday partially met those expectations – but only partially. The S&P 500 index rose for the fourth consecutive day, while the Nasdaq Composite posted its first decline in seven days, as traders digested fresh economic data and remarks by Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell.
Even before the market opened, investors were pleased with the release of the PPI index. U.S. producer prices unexpectedly declined last month, as wholesale service prices fell at the fastest pace on record, according to data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The 0.5% drop in April was the largest monthly decline in five years, suggesting that some businesses are absorbing rising costs due to tariff hikes rather than passing them on to consumers. This should have been a boost for the market. However, as always, any positive news tends to be balanced by negatives.
This time, the negative news came from U.S. retail sales data. According to government figures, sales in April barely grew, as consumers cut spending at petrol stations and car dealerships.
Further negative sentiment came from a Federal Reserve survey showing a contraction in manufacturing in New York. In May, this contraction gathered pace, with many companies remaining pessimistic about the future amid deepening economic weakness in the U.S. Mid-Atlantic region.
These data, along with Jerome Powell's rather cautious speech, shaped the trading session. It is therefore not surprising that mixed data led to mixed results.
The Dow Jones (DJIA-30) performed best on the day, gaining 0.65% after several days of decline. The broader S&P 500 index fared slightly worse – spending the first half of the session in negative territory but managing to recover and close up 0.41%.
The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite ended its seven-day rally with a slight pullback, finishing the day down 0.18%. One reason for the drop was Amazon (AMZN, -2.42%), whose shares came under pressure following news that the company was laying off around 100 employees in its devices and services unit, responsible for products like the Alexa voice assistant and Kindle e-reader.
The ITS index family mirrored the U.S. market closely. The global companies index ITS World (ITSW) fell by 0.31%, while the Islamic securities index ITS Shariah (ITSS) rose by 0.32%.
It is worth noting that ITSW was dragged down by shares of UnitedHealth (UNH, -10.93%), the largest health insurance company in the U.S., which continue to plummet – down over 50% in the past month. The drop followed a report by The Wall Street Journal citing sources about a criminal investigation by the U.S. Department of Justice into potential fraud by the company under the Medicare Advantage programme. UnitedHealth responded by saying it had not received any notifications from the DOJ and called the WSJ article “deeply irresponsible” due to its lack of official basis. Nevertheless, investor reaction suggests more confidence in WSJ than in the company itself.
As for the ITSS index, the best performer was tech giant Cisco Systems (CSCO, +4.85%), which added nearly 5% in market value after a solid quarterly earnings report. The networking equipment maker's Q3 results exceeded Wall Street forecasts, driven by strong demand for its products.
Overall, while the market did not see the strong rebound that some had hoped for, there was also no major negative shift. The market remains relatively calm, potentially laying the groundwork for a slow but steady recovery back to levels seen three months ago.