Trading results for 31 March 2025

The beginning of the week gave investors little cause for optimism. From early Monday morning, all global stock markets were deep in the red – with not a single patch of green in sight. Some even showed signs of panic selling – for example, Japan’s leading index, the Nikkei 225, lost over 4% of its value in one day.

It was therefore only logical to assume that the U.S. market would follow suit – especially since the reason for global investor anxiety was obvious: the looming introduction of new U.S. protectionist tariffs, with the associated risks still very much present. As expected, the main trading session in the States opened with a sharp drop – with leading U.S. indexes falling by up to 1.5% compared to last Friday’s close.

At one point, the S&P 500 – the main benchmark of the U.S. market – dipped below 5,500 points, marking a new low for the year. However, the bears seemed to forget that Monday was not only the last day of the month but also the end of the first quarter. The bulls were not about to allow a steep decline.

After the first hour of trading – once it became clear that a major sell-off would likely be avoided – cautious buying of discounted shares began. This gradually lifted the indexes. By the closing bell, the Dow Jones (DJIA-30) and the S&P 500 had moved into positive territory and ended the day in the green. The tech-heavy NASDAQ Composite nearly managed the same – but the key word here is nearly. Heavy selling of the Magnificent Seven (MAG7) stocks – Monday’s clear underperformers – kept the NASDAQ from finishing in positive territory. However, the drop was minor, amounting to just 0.14%.

The global ITS World Index (ITSW) posted a similarly modest loss of 0.12%. Meanwhile, its counterpart – the ITS Shariah Index – showed a small but symbolic gain of 0.21%. In both indexes, the main laggards were once again the top tech companies. This was especially evident in the ITSS Index, where 8 out of the 10 worst-performing stocks were major big tech names – including Nvidia (NVDA), Microsoft (MSFT) and Broadcom (AVGO).

One company that continues to please investors is Apple (AAPL). After being among last week’s MAG7 leaders, its shares were the only ones in the group to end Monday in the green – and that was despite negative news: France’s antitrust authorities fined the company €162 million. Nevertheless, Apple’s stock gained nearly 2%. As they say, business is business.

All in all, while speculators continue to drive prices up and down, Monday’s outcome has not changed much strategically. Investors are still eagerly awaiting 2 April, when the new tariffs are expected to be announced. Until then… We are holding our breath.