Trading results for 30 June 2025
The end of the month and quarter went exactly as forecast by analysts. The main benchmark of the U.S. market – the S&P 500 – along with the tech-heavy NASDAQ Composite, once again closed at record highs on Monday. This made it their strongest quarter in over a year, driven by rising hopes for trade agreements and potential interest rate cuts, which helped ease the uncertainty that had been holding investors back.
Both indexes ended the quarter with solid double-digit gains: the S&P 500 rose by 10.57%, while the Nasdaq delivered an even more impressive return of 17.75%. Only the good old Dow lagged slightly behind its more agile peers, adding 4.98%.
However, despite the strong quarterly rally, the three key U.S. indexes posted their weakest half-yearly performance since 2022. Over the past six months, investors remained cautious due to persistent uncertainty in trade policy, with tensions peaking after President Donald Trump’s announcement on 2 April regarding the introduction of tariffs.
Trade talks with China and the UK are currently fuelling optimism that a full-scale global trade war might still be avoided. Investors hope that more agreements can be reached before the deadline set by President Trump – 9 July.
The performance of the ITS index family in the second quarter was comparable to that of the U.S. benchmarks. The global ITS World Index (ITSW) gained 7.44%, bringing its year-to-date growth to an impressive 9.83%. The Islamic index ITS Shariah (ITSS) posted an even stronger quarterly return of 15.25%, while rising by 5.37% since the start of the year. As we can see, the ITS indexes are holding their own and standing shoulder to shoulder with their American counterparts.
As for Monday’s trading session, the overall picture is best illustrated by the top three performers in the ITSS index: Oracle (ORCL), Broadcom (AVGO) and Apple (AAPL). These big tech names are continuing to lead the market. Last week, it was the tech sector that delivered the strongest performance – and it still holds the lead.
Today, financial stocks attempted to compete with the tech sector, gaining an average of 0.73% (compared to 0.86% for tech). But it remains a tough challenge to keep pace with the tech giants. The increased interest in bank shares was prompted by their successful performance in recent stress tests – a strong argument in favour of including them in investment portfolios, especially ahead of the corporate earnings season, which begins in two weeks.
All in all, market participants can be fairly pleased with Monday’s trading results. The reporting period ended on a high note, providing a solid foundation for potential further growth.