Trading results for 3 March 2025
Everyone was hoping it would pass them by – hoping until the very last minute. It didn’t. Monday’s trading opened with extreme caution across global markets, which was hardly surprising after last week’s contradictory results. The week had started on a negative note but ended with a celebratory Friday rally, driven by a surge that had no clear justification.
After digesting the week’s events over the weekend, investors were left wondering: What’s next? What was next was Trump’s promised tariff hikes looming on the horizon. Throughout the first half of Monday, the market held its breath, waiting to see whether they would materialise. Unfortunately, they did.
Trump confirmed the introduction of 25% tariffs on Mexican and Canadian goods and an additional 10% on top of the existing 10% tariffs on imports from China. In response, Mexico quickly announced that it had countermeasures ready – not just Plan A, but Plans B, C, D, and beyond. Meanwhile, Canada, ever the polite nation steeped in British and French traditions, initially plans to boycott American orange juice and bourbon. Quite a statement, don’t you think?
As for the stock market, the reaction was swift, with another sharp plunge – the latest in two weeks of turbulence. The sell-off was nearly market-wide, with only consumer defensive stocks (+0.39%) and real estate stocks (+0.35%) managing to stay afloat.
Everything else ended deep in the red. Losses in the energy and technology sectors exceeded 3% (-3.01% and -3.27%, respectively). And that’s just the average. Panic selling hit specific stocks, particularly semiconductor companies, led by NVidia (NVDA, -8.69%). A similar picture played out in the oil sector, where everything was awash in fiery red, as if oil rigs in the Gulf of Mexico (sorry, the American Gulf!) had actually been set on fire.
Naturally, this took a toll on the leading indexes. Losses were fairly even across the board – from -1.48% on the Dow Jones (DJIA-30) to -2.64% on the NASDAQ Composite. As usual, the broad market S&P 500 sat in the middle, shedding 1.76%. Unlike last week, when the Dow managed to withstand the pressure, this time it succumbed to the sell-off. The bears crushed the bulls on Monday, leaving them no chance to fight back.
A similar scenario played out across ITS indexes. The ITS Shariah Index (ITSS), composed solely of major U.S. companies, suffered more, losing just over 2% (-2.02%). Meanwhile, the geographically diversified ITS World Index (ITSW) fared slightly better, with losses contained at -1.2%, thanks to gains in some European and Asian stocks. Still, avoiding losses was nearly impossible, given NVidia’s 8% plunge.
The standout performer within the ITSW index was Japanese pharmaceutical giant Takeda Pharmaceutical (TAK, +2.98%). A multinational company specialising in developing, manufacturing, and selling medicines and medical equipment, Takeda focuses on key therapeutic areas such as oncology, neurology, and gastroenterology. Its portfolio includes well-known products like ENTYVIO for gastrointestinal disorders and ADYNOVI for haemophilia.
Takeda remains well-regarded among analysts and is considered relatively undervalued. Perhaps that’s why investor interest in its shares has surged recently, with prices climbing more than 15% over the past 1.5 months. The company’s financial outlook is also strong. Takeda expects revenue growth of 2.5% this financial year, reaching 4,590 billion yen, supported by favourable exchange rates, company expansion, and a slower decline in U.S. sales of the generic drug VYVANSE. Operating profit is forecast to rise by 29.8% to 344 billion yen, while net profit is expected to soar by 73.5% to 118 billion yen. The consensus price target for its shares is just under $16, implying an upside of around 10% – quite decent for a pharmaceutical company.
Overall, investors’ fears about a new escalation in trade wars appear justified. Unfortunately, this seems to be just the beginning of a more serious and, more importantly, more negative process that could trigger a major market correction. As a result, many investors may start rebalancing their portfolios to reduce risks. In the near future, there could be opportunities to buy stocks at even lower prices.