Trading results for 11 March 2025
The market is desperately searching for positivity – investors are making every effort to grasp onto anything that might halt the unfolding plunge into the abyss. Yesterday, a temporary glimmer of hope came from U.S. macroeconomic data on job openings for February, which rose to 7.74 million, exceeding both the January figure (7.508 million) and analysts' forecast (7.65 million).
Additionally, the significant drop in the stock prices of some tech companies – especially chipmakers – by 20–30% from their highs (e.g., Nvidia (NVDA, +1.66%) and Broadcom (AVGO, +3.06%)) and, in some cases, by over 50% (e.g., Tesla (TSLA, +3.79%)) became an enticing opportunity for certain buyers.
As a result, heading into the main trading session, there was cautious optimism in the market, which eventually translated into slight gains in some individual stocks. This had a positive impact on the leading U.S. indexes, particularly the tech-heavy NASDAQ Composite. However, this optimism was highly fragile, and throughout the session, the market fluctuated wildly – indexes rose, then fell, clinging desperately to the break-even mark to stay in positive territory.
Unfortunately, this was hindered by news from the White House, where the ever-creative President Trump continues to introduce new protectionist tariffs against the U.S.'s key trading partners. Yesterday, Canada found itself in the crosshairs, as tariffs on imported steel and aluminium were raised again in response to Ontario’s 25% duty on electricity exports to the U.S. Trade wars are escalating, and this is deeply concerning for investors.
As a result, market participants could not keep stock prices in the green, and all major U.S. indexes ended the day with relatively minor declines. The key word here is “relatively,” as the S&P 500’s 0.76% drop now seems insignificant compared to the 2.7% decline witnessed the previous day.
The Dow (DJIA-30) fared the worst, losing more than 1% (−1.14%) on the day. Only six of the 30 index constituents managed to close in positive territory. The index was dragged down primarily by three highly respected companies: Verizon Communications (VZ, −6.58%), The Walt Disney Company (DIS, −5.03%), and McDonald's Corporation (MCD, −3.31%). The fact that businesses from such diverse sectors were hit equally hard speaks volumes about the current sell-off – investors are offloading everything, not just tech stocks.
As for the ITS index family, they stood firm, attempting to resist the wave of negativity – and, fortunately, they succeeded. Unlike their American counterparts, the ITS World Index (ITSW) and the ITS Shariah Index (ITSS) managed to close in positive territory, gaining 0.45% and 0.39%, respectively. This result highlights the quality of the portfolios underlying these indexes, as well as their resilience to current risks, market volatility, and uncertainty.
The ITSS was lifted by leading technology stocks, which, as mentioned earlier, were in high demand among investors yesterday. Meanwhile, the ITSW was driven upward by “foreigners” – not Americans, but Chinese and European stocks. The top performers within the ITSW portfolio included Chinese EV manufacturer Li Auto (LI, +7.00%) and global e-commerce giant Alibaba (BABA, +4.89%), alongside a relatively modest Israeli company, CyberArk Software Ltd. (CYBR, +5.80%).
CyberArk Software attracted investors' attention following news that it had expanded its identity security platform by acquiring Zilla Security for $165 million in cash. Zilla specializes in AI-driven identity governance and administration (IGA), a move analysts believe will enable CyberArk to offer automated identity compliance solutions for modern cloud environments.
Overall, CyberArk Software Ltd. is a global leader in identity security, specializing in privileged access management to protect organizations from cyber threats. The company delivered record-breaking results for 2024, with total revenue reaching $1.001 billion – up 33% from $751.9 million in 2023. Subscription revenue soared by 55% to $733.3 million, compared to $472 million the previous year. Despite a GAAP net loss of $93.5 million, its non-GAAP adjusted net income more than doubled, reaching $147.5 million from $52.0 million in 2023.