Stock Market 15 March 2025 - 9 June 2025

The U.S. Air Force has made its Global Hawk drone deployment at Yokota Air Base in Japan permanent, providing Washington and Tokyo with a consistent ISR platform near contested Pacific areas, though local opposition remains a risk. ARK Investment Management bought $52 million in Snowflake shares after the company raised its outlook and announced a $6 billion, five-year deal with Amazon Web Services. SpaceX shares last traded at $185, above their IPO price but down from a recent high, with ARK’s buying activity making ETF exposure more complex. German advisers are set to recommend linking retirement age to life expectancy and creating a state-run capital fund, with Austria as a benchmark, though inflation and gender differences complicate comparisons. AbbVie is close to acquiring Apogee Therapeutics for $10.9 billion in cash, with the deal possibly announced soon, while healthcare ETF XLV fell nearly 3% for the week. The Financial Select Sector SPDR rose 0.4% last week, lagging the S&P 500’s 0.9% gain, as regional banks dropped 2.2% and the Federal Reserve kept rates steady but signaled a possible hike later this year. S&P 500 industrials outperformed with a 2.6% gain, helped by cheaper oil, while the Energy Select Sector SPDR Fund fell 6.6% as Brent crude dropped 7.7% to $80.57 a barrel. The Nasdaq rose 2.4% for the week, ahead of the S&P 500, with upcoming reports from Micron and new inflation and GDP data, while concerns about Strait of Hormuz traffic resurfaced. Taiwan Semiconductor surged 6.86% on record revenue growth and strong demand.