Trading results for 23 June 2025
Once again, geopolitics. Once again, the Middle East. Unfortunately, there’s no escaping it. On the bright side, however, market participants remain optimistic and still hold out hope for a rapid de-escalation of the conflict. Investor behaviour during Monday’s main session clearly reflected these expectations. Trading opened flat, and throughout the first half of the day, the market oscillated between gains and losses.
But when reports emerged that Qatar had intercepted a missile strike from Iran – with Tehran apparently even issuing a warning in advance – many investors took it as a sign that “peace might be in the air”. Whether that’s truly the case remains to be seen. Still, it was this sense of approaching peace that sent equity prices surging and oil prices crashing. The day ended on a strong note, with all major U.S. indexes posting gains of nearly 1%: the Dow Jones rose by 0.86%, the S&P 500 by 0.96% and the NASDAQ Composite by 0.94%.
Sector-wise, the picture was equally encouraging: 9 out of 11 sectors finished firmly in positive territory, gaining more than 1%. The troubled pharmaceuticals sector continues to struggle, and Healthcare closed the day essentially flat (-0.05%). Oil and gas companies, on the other hand, fell by an average of 2.35% – which, given oil’s nearly 8% daily plunge, could be seen as a relatively moderate decline.
The ITS family of indexes also had a good day. The ITS World Index (ITSW), which tracks global companies, climbed 0.6%, while the ITS Shariah Index (ITSS) performed even better with a 1.3% gain.
Investor optimism was also evident in the ITSS index, where only 3 of the 30 constituent stocks ended in the red. Unsurprisingly, these included oil giants Chevron (CVX) and Exxon Mobil (XOM), as well as pharmaceutical firm AbbVie (ABBV).
The standout performer of the day – both in the ITS indexes and the S&P 500 – was Tesla (TSLA). The electric vehicle giant’s shares jumped 8.23% amid a frenzy of investor interest following Sunday’s news that Tesla had started offering robotaxi rides in Texas. The first reviews quickly appeared online – and they were overwhelmingly positive.
Chinese EV maker Li Auto (LI) also surged, trailing closely behind Tesla with a 7.96% gain. As both companies are included in the ITSW index, their performance contributed to its rise. The index is now just 2% below its all-time high.
Overall, by Monday evening, the mood on the market had improved. Investors were visibly encouraged, and the week got off to a surprisingly upbeat start. If this trend continues, we may well see the indexes approach the record levels last seen in mid-February by the end of the week.