Morgans Financial Limited

US equity markets mixed following a session absent any major news or data, and with investors eyeing the latest round of inflation figures - Dow eased -81-points or -0.21%, snapping an eight session winning streak. Intel Corp rose +2.21% after The Wall Street Journal reported that the company is in talks with Apollo Global Management about providing US$11B in funds to help the chipmaker build a plant in Ireland.

US equity markets advanced although investor sentiment was kept in check after consumer sentiment data (including inflation expectations) deteriorated and ahead of inflation data later this week - Dow rose +125-points or +0.32%, booking an eighth consecutive session advance and best weekly performance of 2024 to date. Goldman Sachs Group Inc settled -0.18% lower after touching a record intra-day high of US$458.75. The broader S&P500 added +0.16%, with Consumer Staples (up +0.64%), Information Technology (+0.48%) and Financials (+0.46%) the leading primary sector performers on Friday (10 May). Consumer Discretionary (down -0.61%) and Energy (-0.55%) were the laggards. The Nasdaq dipped -0.03%. The small capitalisation Russell 2000 lost -0.67%.

US equity markets advanced as the latest weekly jobless claims figures fuelled fresh optimism around Federal Reserve interest rate cuts - Dow rallied +331-points or +0.85% to 39,387.76 to book its seventh consecutive session advance and highest close since 1 April. The 30-stock index also settled within 1.1% of its 28 March record closing high (39,807.37). Home Depot Inc (up +2.54%) and Caterpillar Inc (+2.11%) climbed over >2% to be the leading index components overnight.

US equity markets were mixed following a subdued session - Dow sealed its sixth consecutive session advance, rising +172-points or +0.44% to 39,056.39 to book its longest winning streak since the period that ended on 19 December (when the index rose for nine straight trading days). It also marked the first time that the 30-stock index closed above >39,000 since 3 April.

Morgans Chief Economist Michael Knox says that for the RBA to get inflation down to 2.5%, unemployment must rise above 4.5% in Australia. Check out more from Morgans: Visit the Morgans website: www.morgans.com.au Check out our latest articles: https://morgans.com.au/insights On Facebook: www.facebook.com/MorgansAU On Instagram: www.instagram.com/Morgans.Australia On Twitter: twitter.com/MorgansAU

US equity markets settled with modest gains overnight - Dow edged +32-points or +0.08%, recording its fifth consecutive session gain and longest winning streak since 19 December last year (that has lifted the 30-stock index +2.8%). Apple Inc (up +0.38%) hosted a product launch event overnight called ‘Let Loose’, unveiling an iPad Pro powered by its new M4 chip capable of running artificial intelligence (AI) applications locally. Apple called the latest iPad Pro an "outrageously powerful device for artificial intelligence," that with the M4 chip features Apple’s "most powerful Neural Engine ever." Apple said the "Neural Engine in M4 is more powerful than any neural processing unit in any AI PC today."

US equity markets advanced, building on last Friday’s (3 May) strong gains - Dow extended gains into a fourth straight session, up +177 points or +0.46%. Walt Disney Co (up +2.47%) was the leading performer in the 30-stock index ahead of the release of its fiscal second quarter result tonight AEST.

Morgans Chief Economist Michael Knox says that though the FED are easing quantitative tightening, US consumer demand is still too healthy to allow rate cuts. Check out more from Morgans: Visit the Morgans website: www.morgans.com.au Check out our blog: www.morgans.com.au/Blog On Facebook: www.facebook.com/MorgansAU On Instagram: www.instagram.com/Morgans.Australia On Twitter: twitter.com/MorgansAU

US equity markets rallied on Friday (3 May) after the latest jobs data printed weaker-than-expected for the first time in four months, with all three benchmark indices rising over >1% on the same day for the first time since 22 February - Dow rallied +450-points or +1.18%. Apple Inc gained +5.98%, with the iPhone maker logging its best single session gain since 30 November, 2022 after unveiling stronger-than-expected fiscal second quarter result after the close of the previous session that included a record US$110B share buyback programme. Amgen Inc +11.82% - its best single session advance since 2009 - after the biopharmaceutical giant posted quarterly earnings that came in ahead of expectations and provided a positive update about trials of its injectable weight-loss drug MariTide after the close of last Thursday’s (2 May) session.

Morgans AM: Friday, 3 May 2024 by Morgans Financial

US equity markets retreated overnight, reversing earlier gains as investors digested the latest monetary policy announcements from the Federal Reserve - Dow added +87-points or +0.2%, unwinding an earlier rally of over >500-points. Amazon.com Inc climbed +2.17% after reporting better-than-expected first-quarter earnings after the close of the previous session, underpinned by growth in its cloud computing and advertising businesses. Johnson & Johnson rose +4.56% after proposing a US$6.5B settlement that would resolve nearly all outstanding talc ovarian cancer lawsuits it faces.

Our Model of US GDP says steady growth just below trend. Just where the Fed needs it to keep US Inflation falling. Check out more from Morgans: Visit the Morgans website: www.morgans.com.au Check out our blog: www.morgans.com.au/Blog On Facebook: www.facebook.com/MorgansAU On Instagram: www.instagram.com/Morgans.Australia On Twitter: twitter.com/MorgansAU

A slowing economy and rising unemployment pushes down interest rates. Check out more from Morgans: Visit the Morgans website: www.morgans.com.au Check out our blog: www.morgans.com.au/Blog On Facebook: www.facebook.com/MorgansAU On Instagram: www.instagram.com/Morgans.Australia On Twitter: twitter.com/MorgansAU

US equity markets retreated, extending losses in the final hour of trading as wage growth data dealt another blow to the Federal Reserve in its fight against inflation ahead of the central bank concluding its two-day monetary policy meeting tomorrow morning AEST - Dow fell -570-points or -1.49%, the largest one-day percentage decline for the 30-stock index since March 22, 2023. Economic bellwether Caterpillar Inc dropped -4.35%, while Boeing Co (-3.26%), Chevron Corp (-3.04%) and Microsoft Corp (-3.21%) fell over >3%. Walmart Inc fell -1.48% after announcing it was abandoning its push into low-cost health centres amid mounting costs.

US equity markets advanced, building on last week’s rally ahead of the busiest week on the US first quarter earnings calendar and employment data and the Federal Reserve’s latest monetary policy meeting - Dow added +146-points or +0.38%. Boeing Co rose +3.75% amid reports it had tapped the bond market to raise US$10B after last week reporting it burned through nearly $4 billion in cash in the first quarter.

US equity markets rallied on Friday (26 April), shrugging off fresh evidence of sticky inflation as investors cheered strong earnings from technology majors - Dow rose+153-points or +0.4%. Amazon.com Inc (up +3.43%) was the leading performer in the 30-stock index, buoyed by strong first quarter results from artificial intelligence (AI) hyperscaler peers, including Microsoft Corp (+1.82%). Goldman Sachs Group Inc rose +1.79% to US$427.57, touched a record all-time high of US$428.53.

US equity markets retreated, paring earlier steeper losses as investors digested the latest economic growth data and another swathe of major corporate earnings releases  - Dow fell -375-points or 0.98% (after slipping -43-points or 0.11% on Wednesday (24 April)). International Business Machines (IBM) Corp shed -8.25% after the hardware, software and consulting provider reported softer-than-expected first quarter revenue (up +1.5% year-on-year at US$14.46B versus consensus US$14.55B) after the close of the previous session and confirmed earlier media speculation in announcing that it was acquiring cloud software maker HashiCorp Inc (up +4.49% at US$32.82) in a deal with an enterprise value of US$6.4B (paying US$35 per share).

US equity markets rallied as investors poured over another busy corporate earnings calendar - Dow extended gains into a fourth consecutive session, rising +264-points or +0.69% to book its longest winning streak since 21 March. Verizon Communications Inc rebounded +2.85% after dropping -4.67% a day earlier following the release of the telecommunications giant’s first quarter result. American Express Co gained +2.56%.

US equity markets rebounded to open a busy week headlined by a host of major corporate earnings releases, and gross domestic product (GDP) growth and inflation data - Dow gained +254-points or +0.67%, extending its advance into a third consecutive session. Goldman Sachs Group Inc (up +3.3%) was the leading performer in the 30-stock index, with just five components settling in the red. Salesforce Inc rose +1.27% following reports that talks to acquire data management firm Informatica (down -10.51%) had broken down. News of the possible acquisition sent Salesforce’s stock tumbling last week.

US equity markets retreated, with large capitalisation technology stocks under particular pressure and with traders continuing to assess the latest developments in the Middle East and quarterly earnings - Dow gained +211-points or +0.56%.