Trading results for 14 February 2025
Looking at daily trading results, it might seem that changes are minimal and nothing significant is happening. Since mid-January, the U.S. market has been moving sideways, showing little direction. However, last week altered the market dynamics. The trigger for this shift was inflation data, which appeared worse than expected but was ultimately interpreted as positive.
In short, analysts managed to convince investors that disappointing consumer inflation figures were actually a relief – things could have been worse. Adding to the optimism was renewed enthusiasm around artificial intelligence, which fueled a buying spree, pushing indexes close to historical highs. However, U.S. benchmarks stopped just short of setting new records. The S&P 500, the primary U.S. market indicator, closed on Friday only 4 points below its all-time high, missing a fresh peak by just 1 point.
Despite this, the week was highly productive, with all three major U.S. indexes posting solid gains. Over five trading days, the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA-30) rose 0.55%, while the NASDAQ Composite, driven by tech stocks, surged 2.58%. The S&P 500 also showed strong performance, adding 1.47%.
While the S&P 500 fell short of a record, the global market index ITS World (ITSW) confidently set new highs. Last week truly belonged to ITSW, as it climbed consistently, reaching fresh all-time highs every day – both intraday and at market close. By the end of the week, it had gained 3.58%, largely due to its strong geographical diversification.
Both U.S. and Asian markets performed well, alongside leading Chinese tech companies. Shares of e-commerce giant Alibaba (BABA) opened with a gap up each day, ending the week with a gain of over 20%. Baidu (BIDU), NetEase (NTES) and other Chinese firms also posted impressive growth. The simultaneous rally in U.S. and Chinese tech giants helped ITSW achieve new record levels.
Meanwhile, the ETF tracking ITSW also advanced, surpassing the key $11 mark in trading. Its return since launch three months ago now exceeds 10%.
The second ITS index, the Shariah-compliant ITS Shariah (ITSS), also performed well, rising 1.74% over the week. Here, the main growth drivers mirrored those in U.S. markets, with leading tech stocks leading the way. However, rather than the "Magnificent Seven" (except for NVidia (NVDA)), second-tier tech companies such as Adobe (ADBE), Cisco Systems (CSCO) and Oracle (ORCL) took the lead.
Overall, the market tension seen a week ago has eased, giving way to renewed optimism that lifted indexes to record levels. However, despite the recent positive momentum, a sharp rally seems unlikely. Instead, a slow and steady climb is more probable – unless a significant negative catalyst emerges.