Trading results for 15 April 2025
Following the turbulent trading of the previous week, the market began to calm down somewhat. Volatility dropped sharply – from 50 to 30 points on the VIX fear index – and trading volumes fell just as dramatically, more than halving. Actually, this is logical: first came a sharp fall, followed by a confident rebound. And now? Especially since the situation with the introduction of new tariffs remains unresolved, leaving investors unsure of what to do next.
Tuesday’s trading reflected this uncertainty. The market opened slightly higher, and during the first half of the main session, the leading U.S. indexes held confidently above the zero mark. The gains were modest but steady, with no serious attempts to move lower. However, in the second half of the day, market sentiment began to deteriorate: indexes slowly but steadily slid (not fell!) slightly into the red.
Even the solid quarterly earnings reports from major banks – which opened the new reporting season – did little to help. These results provided some support, and the financial sector was the best performing by the end of the day, with companies in this segment gaining an average of 0.6%. The leaders were two banking giants – Bank of America (BAC, +3.60%) and Wells Fargo (WFC, +2.28%). This, of course, helped limit the overall decline and prevented the indexes from dropping further.
In the end, losses in the main U.S. indexes were largely symbolic – ranging from -0.05% for the tech-heavy NASDAQ Composite to -0.38% for the Dow Jones (DJIA-30). The key benchmark of the American market – the S&P 500 – declined by 0.17%.
All in all, one might welcome such trading results – a brief pause, a light pullback. Nothing critical, and it's quite possible the market will soon resume its upward movement. However, one unwelcome detail emerged yesterday: the S&P 500 chart formed a so-called Death Cross. In terms of technical analysis, this is a strong sell signal. In practice, investors often take it literally and start exiting positions. So, the appearance of a Death Cross is a signal that should be taken seriously. It is too early to relax.
As for the ITS index family, losses on Thursday were slightly more noticeable than those of the U.S. benchmarks. This was mainly due to longer trading hours – the worsening sentiment in the U.S. post-market after the main session had already closed managed to affect ITS quotes. As a result, the ITS World Index (ITSW), which tracks global companies, fell by 0.58%, while the ITS Shariah Index (ITSS) dropped by 0.82%. Overall, both indexes showed mixed dynamics, with no clear leaders or outright underperformers.
It is clear that the market has entered a phase of waiting. What will serve as the next trigger to move it – remains unclear. Most likely, it will be the release of quarterly earnings from leading U.S. companies – the season has only just begun and will gather momentum in the coming days.