US stock futures edged lower Wednesday evening ahead of Thursday’s market closure for Juneteenth.
The moves came after the Federal Reserve held interest rates steady, with Chair Jerome Powell striking a cautious tone amid rising geopolitical and economic uncertainty.
Powell reaffirmed a data-dependent approach, pointing to unclear inflation impacts from President Trump’s tariffs and the risk of stagflation.
Fed projections now include two rate cuts in 2025, alongside downgraded growth expectations and higher inflation forecasts.
Investor sentiment was further dampened by escalating tensions in the Middle East, as the ongoing Israel-Iran conflict stoked fears of deeper US involvement, while North Korea has recently launched 10 rockets from near capital Pyongyang.
Futures for 7 of the 11 S&P 500 sectors ended the Prime Day holiday in the red, led by declines in energy, while technology outperformed.
What is more important Technology sector is the one and only over 11 S&P 500 sectors that has printed recently new all the history high, just one - two days before Prime Day.
What is XLK The Technology Select Sector SPDR Fund ETF
XLK ETF is respectively The Technology Select Sector ETF, that seeks to provide investment results correspond generally to the price and yield performance of the S&P 500 Technology Sector Index.
The largest 5 holdings of this ETF are Microsoft
MSFT , Nvidia 
NVDA , Apple 
AAPL , Broadcom 
AVGO and Oracle 
ORCL , while all together they weight nearly 50 percent of the fund by market cap.
MicrosoftMSFT shares have experienced a significant upward trend in 2025, reaching new all-time highs and reflecting the company’s robust financial performance and strategic positioning in the technology sector.
Record Highs and Price Momentum
As of June 18, 2025, Microsoft’s stock closed at $480.24, marking its highest closing price ever. This price is just below its 52-week high of $481.00 and represents a 14% gain year-to-date, making Microsoft one of the best-performing stocks among the so-called “Magnificent Seven” tech giants in 2025. The stock’s average price over the past 52 weeks was $422.77, and its 52-week low was $344.79, which is 28.2% below the current level, highlighting the impressive rally over the past year.
Short-Term and Long-Term Performance
In the immediate term, Microsoft’s stock has shown steady gains. Over the past week, the share price rose by 2.03%, and over the past month, it increased by 6.36%. Looking at a broader horizon, the stock is up 6.79% over the last year, underscoring consistent investor confidence and the company’s ability to capitalize on growth opportunities.
Drivers Behind the Rally
Several factors have contributed to Microsoft’s recent share price surge:
Market and Analyst Sentiment
Microsoft’s market capitalization recently reached $3.55 trillion, with a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.94, indicating high investor expectations for future growth. Analysts’ price targets for MSFT range from $432 to $700, suggesting a wide spectrum of views but generally positive long-term sentiment.
Competitive and Operational Challenges
Despite its strong performance, Microsoft faces competitive pressures, particularly from OpenAI, which has been offering discounted ChatGPT subscriptions, impacting Microsoft’s own AI products like Copilot. Additionally, negotiations with OpenAI over continued access to its technology have reportedly stalled, introducing some uncertainty into Microsoft’s AI strategy.
Technical challenge and summary
While Microsoft shares have recently hit record highs, driven by aggressive AI investment, disciplined cost management, and strong core business performance, it robustly helped to all the Technology sector came back to 6-month key resistance after nearly 40 percent recovery rally.
While the market faces different challenges, we keep our strategic focus on next positions and further stock market development.
--
Best wishes,
PandorraResearch Team 😎
The moves came after the Federal Reserve held interest rates steady, with Chair Jerome Powell striking a cautious tone amid rising geopolitical and economic uncertainty.
Powell reaffirmed a data-dependent approach, pointing to unclear inflation impacts from President Trump’s tariffs and the risk of stagflation.
Fed projections now include two rate cuts in 2025, alongside downgraded growth expectations and higher inflation forecasts.
Investor sentiment was further dampened by escalating tensions in the Middle East, as the ongoing Israel-Iran conflict stoked fears of deeper US involvement, while North Korea has recently launched 10 rockets from near capital Pyongyang.
Futures for 7 of the 11 S&P 500 sectors ended the Prime Day holiday in the red, led by declines in energy, while technology outperformed.
What is more important Technology sector is the one and only over 11 S&P 500 sectors that has printed recently new all the history high, just one - two days before Prime Day.
What is XLK The Technology Select Sector SPDR Fund ETF
XLK ETF is respectively The Technology Select Sector ETF, that seeks to provide investment results correspond generally to the price and yield performance of the S&P 500 Technology Sector Index.The largest 5 holdings of this ETF are Microsoft
MSFT , Nvidia NVDA , Apple AAPL , Broadcom AVGO and Oracle ORCL , while all together they weight nearly 50 percent of the fund by market cap. Microsoft
MSFT shares have experienced a significant upward trend in 2025, reaching new all-time highs and reflecting the company’s robust financial performance and strategic positioning in the technology sector.Record Highs and Price Momentum
As of June 18, 2025, Microsoft’s stock closed at $480.24, marking its highest closing price ever. This price is just below its 52-week high of $481.00 and represents a 14% gain year-to-date, making Microsoft one of the best-performing stocks among the so-called “Magnificent Seven” tech giants in 2025. The stock’s average price over the past 52 weeks was $422.77, and its 52-week low was $344.79, which is 28.2% below the current level, highlighting the impressive rally over the past year.
Short-Term and Long-Term Performance
In the immediate term, Microsoft’s stock has shown steady gains. Over the past week, the share price rose by 2.03%, and over the past month, it increased by 6.36%. Looking at a broader horizon, the stock is up 6.79% over the last year, underscoring consistent investor confidence and the company’s ability to capitalize on growth opportunities.
Drivers Behind the Rally
Several factors have contributed to Microsoft’s recent share price surge:
- Artificial Intelligence Investment. Microsoft continues to invest heavily in AI infrastructure, with plans to spend $80 billion in fiscal 2025. This aggressive investment is seen as crucial to maintaining a competitive edge in cloud computing and AI services, areas that are driving much of the company’s growth.
- Cost Management. Despite the heavy spending on AI, Microsoft is also focused on controlling costs. The company is reportedly planning to trim thousands of jobs, particularly in sales, to offset rising expenses and protect profit margins. This follows earlier workforce reductions and reflects a broader trend among major tech firms to optimize operations amid escalating AI-related costs.
- Diversified Revenue Streams. Microsoft’s strong position in software, cloud computing, and AI, along with its subscription-based business model and consistent dividend growth, have bolstered investor sentiment. The company’s cloud platform Azure and productivity tools continue to show strong adoption across industries.
Market and Analyst Sentiment
Microsoft’s market capitalization recently reached $3.55 trillion, with a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.94, indicating high investor expectations for future growth. Analysts’ price targets for MSFT range from $432 to $700, suggesting a wide spectrum of views but generally positive long-term sentiment.
Competitive and Operational Challenges
Despite its strong performance, Microsoft faces competitive pressures, particularly from OpenAI, which has been offering discounted ChatGPT subscriptions, impacting Microsoft’s own AI products like Copilot. Additionally, negotiations with OpenAI over continued access to its technology have reportedly stalled, introducing some uncertainty into Microsoft’s AI strategy.
Technical challenge and summary
While Microsoft shares have recently hit record highs, driven by aggressive AI investment, disciplined cost management, and strong core business performance, it robustly helped to all the Technology sector came back to 6-month key resistance after nearly 40 percent recovery rally.
While the market faces different challenges, we keep our strategic focus on next positions and further stock market development.
--
Best wishes,
PandorraResearch Team 😎
Trade active
July 3, 2025👉 The Technology Select S&P 500 Fund XLK Goes new all time high
👉 The # 1 racer over the fund components is Palantir stock
PLTR (+73.39% return in 2025 so far, and +411.30% over the past 12 months).
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Disclaimer
The information and publications are not meant to be, and do not constitute, financial, investment, trading, or other types of advice or recommendations supplied or endorsed by TradingView. Read more in the Terms of Use.