US equity markets retreated, with chip stocks under particular pressure ahead of earnings from a number of large capitalisation technology companies - Dow gained +203-points or +0.50%, with Travelers Companies Inc (up +3.03%), and investment banks Goldman Sachs Group Inc (+2.63%) and JPMorgan Chase & Co (+2.06%) leading the 30-stock index’s advance.

US equity markets settled little changed ahead of a defining week that sees 171 S&P 500 companies post second quarter results (including ten (10) Dow components and four (4) of the so-called ‘Magnificent Seven’ of large capitalisation technology stocks) along with key global central bank meetings and the latest Non Farm payrolls report - Dow slipped -49-points or -0.12%, with Caterpillar Inc (down -1.7%), Intel Corp (-1.66%), 3M Co (-1.57%) and Salesforce Inc (-1.57%) all falling over >1.5%.

US equity markets soared on Friday (26 July) to cap a turbulent week, with the S&P 500 and Nasdaq snapping three session losing streaks as the technology sector recovered, corporate earnings news provided a big boost to several companies and inflation data reinforced expectations that the Federal Reserve will cut interest rates soon - Dow rallied +654-points or +1.64%, American Express Co (up +2.38%), with Travelers Companies Inc (+2.21%), Salesforce Inc (+2.%) and Visa Inc (+2.35%) all rising over >2%The broader S&P500 gained +1.11%, with Industrials (up +1.72%), Materials (+1.68%), Real Estate (+1.67%) and Financials (+1.49%) leading all eleven primary sectors higher.

The S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite retreated for a third straight session amid a fresh rotation out of large cap technology into small capitalisation and value stocks - Dow added +81-points or +0.20% but settled well off its session highs. International Business Machines (IBM) Corp climbed +4.33% and was the leading performer in the 30-stock index. Boeing Co (up +2.38%), Caterpillar Inc (+2.46%) and Salesforce Inc (+2.7%) all rallied over >2%. Microsoft Corp shed -2.45%.

US equity markets settled with modest declines as investors digested a busy corporate earnings calendar and eyed second quarter results from the first of the so-called “Magnificent Seven” of large capitalisation technology stocks after the closing bell - Dow slipped -57-points or -0.14%. Walt Disney Co (down -.39%) was the worst performer in the 30-stock index, while McDonald’s Corp (-2.12%), Nike Inc (-1.95%) and Chevron Corp (-1.85%) were also notable underperformers. Boeing Co (up +4.24%) was the best performing Dow component overnight after receiving an additional airplane order from Qatar Airways.

Technology stocks led a rebound on US equity markets following steep losses last week - Dow added +128-points or +0.32%, with Nike Inc (up +2.97%) and Salesforce Inc (+2.6%) both gaining over >2.5% to be the leading performers in the 30-stock index.The broader S&P500 gained +1.08%, logging its best session since 5 June as more than >77% of index constituents advanced. Information Technology (up +1.96%), Communication Services (+1.21%) and Industrials (+1.07%) all rose over >1% to lead nine of the eleven primary sectors higher. Energy (down -0.72%) and Consumer Staples (-0.04%) were the only primary sectors to settle in the red overnight. Reddit Inc gained +5.3% after the social media company announced partnerships with the NBA, NFL, and other major U.S. sports leagues that will give its users access to official highlights and other content. CrowdStrike Holdings Inc slumped -13.46% to be the worst performer in the S&P 500 for a second session running as the fallout after from an update to the cybersecurity firm's software that caused a global outage in Microsoft Corp’s (-0.74%) cloud services late last week continued.

US equity markets retreated on Friday (19 July) as technology stocks came under fresh pressure and investors digested the impact of a global technology outage - Dow dropped -377-points or -0.93%, extending its decline over the past two sessions to over >900 points or ~2.2%. Intel Corp shed -5.42% to be the worst performer in the 30-stock index on Friday (19 July).The broader S&P500 fell -0.71%, with Energy (down -1.29%), Information Technology (-1.27%) and Financials (-1.00%) all fell 1%+ to lead nine of the eleven primary sectors lower. Health Care (up +0.50%) and Utilities (+0.11%) were the only primary sectors to advance.  Starbucks Corp rallied +6.85% after the Wall Street Journal reported that activist investor Elliott Management has taken a significant stake in the global coffee chain and is engaging with management to find ways to improve the company’s share price.

US equity markets retreated amid fresh weakness for a number of large capitalisation technology companies and as the rally among small capitalisation stocks stalled - Dow dropped -533-points or -1.29%, having logged consecutive record closing highs. Investment banks Goldman Sachs Group Inc and JPMorgan Chase & Co both fell -3.18% to be the worst performers in the 30-stock index overnight. Amazon.com Inc (down -2.22%) and Apple Inc (-2.05%) both fell over >2%.The broader S&P500 fell -0.78% Healthcare (down -2.29%) leading ten of the eleven primary sectors lower. Energy (up +0.33%) was the only primary sector to advance overnight. Eli Lilly & Co fell -6.26%, extending the previous session’s -3.8% decline amid concerns about intensifying competition among obesity-drug developers. Swiss pharmaceutical company Roche Holding AG announced positive early-stage trial data for its experimental obesity pill a day earlier. Ozempic manufacturer Novo Nordisk A/S fell -3.48%., taking its two-day slide to almost 9%.

US equity markets rallied as the rotation into value stocks, which have underperformed their growth peers and the broader S&P 500, gained momentum amid building expectations of interest rate cuts - Dow rallied +743-points or +1.85% to a fresh record closing high of 40,954.48, booking its largest one-day percentage gain since June 2023, and largest daily point gain since November 2022, according to Dow Jones Market data. The Dow Jones transportation average (up +3.28% at 16,298.98) outperformed the broader indexes, logging its biggest one-day percentage gain since November and reaching its highest closing level since August 2023 as investors increasingly focused on undervalued areas of the market. Caterpillar Inc (up +4.28%) and Boeing Co (+3.87%)

US equity markets opened the new week on a positive footing- Dow gained +211-points or +0.53% to record closing high of 40,211.72  - the first record close for the 30-stock index since 17 May and 20th this year. American Express Co (up +2.25%), Caterpillar Inc (+3.03%) and JPMorgan Chase & Co (+2.49%) all climbed over >2%.The broader S&P500 added +0.28% to 5,631.22, touching a fresh record intra-day peak (5,666.94). Energy (up +1.56%) and Financials (+1.42%) lead six of the eleven primary sectors higher. Utilities (down -2.39%) sat at the foot of the primary sector leaderboard overnight.

US equity markets advanced on Friday (12 July), rebounding from the previous session’s sell-off albeit finished off their best levels of the session that saw all three benchmark indices more than >1% higher - Dow rallied +247-points or +0.62% to 40,000.90, touching a fresh record all time intra-day high of 40,257.24. International Business Machines (IBM) Corp (up +2.53%) and Intel Corp (+2.96%) both rose over >2.5% to be the leading performers in the stock index.

The S&P 500 and Nasdaq snapped a seven-session winning streak and logged their worst single session declines since 30 April as investors digested the latest inflation figures that triggered a rotation out of large capitalisation technology stocks - Dow edged +32-points or +0.08% higher, with Home Depot (up +2.79%) the leading performer n the 30-stock index. However, Intel Corp slumped -3.93%, while Amazon.com Inc (down -2.37%) and Apple Inc (-2.32%) and Microsoft Corp (-2.48%) all fell over >2%.

The S&P 500 and Nasdaq extended their respective rallies into a seventh consecutive session, boosted by the continued strong performance of technology stocks and recording a fresh round of record peaks that lifted the S&P 500 above >5,600 for the first time - Dow rose +429-points or +1.09% to 39,721.36, marking the 30-stock index’s best single session advance since 31 May.

The S&P 500 and Nasdaq edged higher to fresh record closing peaks, extending gains that have been fuelled by the strong performance of technology stocks and hopes the Federal Reserve will cut interest rates soon - Dow eased -53-points or -0.13%, with Dow Inc (down -2.31%), Microsoft Corp (-1.44%) and Salesforce Inc (-1.77%) among the key index drags.  Intel Corp (up +1.77%) booked a five-session winning streak, while Goldman Sachs Group Inc (+1.72%) also rose over >1.5%. Apple Inc added +0.38% to a fresh record closing high of US$228.68 that lifted the company’s market capitalisation above >US$3.5 trillion. Amazon.com Inc inched +0.03% higher, with founder and executive chair Jeff Bezos selling s further US$863.5M in stock. A filing after the market close last Tuesday (3 July) disclosed the proposed sale of 25M shares (or almost US$5B), which would still leave Mr Bezos owning an ~8.8% stake.

US equity markets opened the week with modest gains, lifting the S&P 500 and Nasdaq to fresh record closing highs - Dow slipped -31-points or -0.08%. Nike Inc (down -3.16%) was the worst performer in the 30-stock index, while Salesforce Inc (-2.21%) and Visa Inc (-1.46%) were also notable underperformers. Intel Corp soared +6.15% to be the leading Dow component overnight. Boeing Co rose +0.55% despite news the aircraft manufacturer had agreed to plead guilty to a charge of defrauding the federal government over the 2018 and 2019 crashes of a pair of 737 Max planes that killed more than 300 people. The company will pay another US$243.6M in fines, and be required to spend ~US$455M on its safety and compliance programs over the next three years while facing a three-year probationary period where it will be monitored by a government-appointed compliance monitor.

US equity markets rallied on Friday (5 July), lifting both the S&P 500 and Nasdaq to fresh record closing highs as the latest jobs data pointing to a cooling but not collapsing economy, and with the second quarter earnings season kicking off later in the week - Dow added +68-points or +0.17%, with both Apple Inc (up +2.16% to US$226.34) and Microsoft Corp (+1.47% to US$467.56) climbing to fresh record highs. Intel Corp (up +2.53%) and Walmart Inc (+2.64%) both rallied over >2.5%.

Earnings for S&P 500 companies are forecast to grow 8.8% year-on-year in the second quarter according to FactSet, which would mark the highest year-over-year earnings growth rate reported by the index since the first quarter of 2022 (when earnings grew 9.4%).

US equity markets advanced as Treasury yields retreated, lifting the S&P 500 and Nasdaq to back-to-back record closing highs in an abbreviated trading session ahead of the Independence Day holiday - Dow slipped -24-points or -0.06%, with healthcare stocks trailing the broader market. UnitedHealth Group Inc fell -1.68%, while Merck & Co Inc lost -1.46% and Amgen Inc -0.45%. Salesforce Inc (up +1.86%) was the leading performer in the 30-stock index.

US equity markets rallied, with the S&P 500 and Nasdaq closing above the 5,500 and 18,000 milestones respectively for the first time ever - Dow rose +162-points or +0.41%.The broader S&P500 gained +0.62% to 5,509.01, logging its 32nd record close of 2024. Consumer Discretionary (up +1.81%) and Financials (+1.10%) rose over >1% and led ten of the eleven primary sectors higher. However, Health Care (down -0.40%) extended losses into a sixth straight session, the sector’s longest losing streak since January 2022. Tesla Inc jumped +10.20% to US$231.26 to be the best performer in the S&P 500 for second session running and log it highest close since 10 January after the electric-vehicle giant stronger-than-expected second quarter deliveries.

US equity markets advanced to kick off the second half of 2024, with the Nasdaq climbing to a fresh record high - Dow edged +51-points or +0.13% higher, with Merck & Co Inc (up +3.31%) the leading performer in the 30-stock index. Boeing Co rose +2.58% after announcing a long-awaited deal to reacquire parts supplier Spirit AeroSystems Holdings Inc (+3.35%). UnitedHealth Group Inc (down 2.87%) and Home Depot Inc (-2.34%) were the worst performing Dow components overnight.

US equity markets relinquished early gains that saw both the S&P 500 and Nasdaq touch fresh record intra-day highs to close out the month, quarter and half with a whimper on Friday (28 June) - Dow slipped -45-points or -0.12%. Nike Inc tumbled -19.98% recording its largest single session percentage decline on record after reporting a disappointing fourth quarter result and cutting full year guidance after the close of the previous session that prompted multiple broker downgrades. Boeing Co (down -.27%) will be charged with fraud by the US Justice Department, according to a Bloomberg report that was published over the weekend. The decision comes after the Justice Department said Boeing violated the terms of a 2021 deferred prosecution agreement in May.

US equity markets ended relatively unchanged as investors await fresh inflation data and what comes of the presidential debate scheduled for today- Dow rose +36 points or +0.09% to 39,164. Walgreens Boots Alliance slumped -22.16% after cutting its 2024 profit forecast and announcing plans to close more underperforming US stores. Nike shares were down -6% in extended trading, reporting its slowest annual sales growth in 14 years, excluding the Covid-19 pandemic, citing a slowdown in lifestyle stales, among other factors such as losing market share to start-ups On Running and Hoka.

US equity markets closed with modest gains after a choppy trading session, with investors holding their cards close to their chest ahead of a presidential debate and an inflation report closely watched by Federal Reserve policy makers - Dow rose +16.10 points or +0.04%, to 39,128.26. The broader S&P500 +0.16% to 5,477.91. Shares of major US banks including Morgan Stanley, Citigroup and Bank of America have been boosted by the results of the Fed’s annual banking sector stress test with each of the 31 banks absorbing losses while maintaining capital requirements in an environment assuming 10% unemployment, commercial real estate values plunging 40% and housing prices falling -36%.

The S&P 500 and Nasdaq snapped three session losing streaks as Nvidia Corp (+6.76%) arrested a 3-day slide saw the chip giant enter official correction territory less than a week after hitting a record all time high - Dow dropped -299-points or -0.76%, snapping a five session winning streak and booking its worst single session decline since 30 May. Home Depot Inc fell -3.58% amid a broader sell-off of stocks exposed to the U.S. housing market. Boeing Co lost -2.23% following a Bloomberg report it had altered its offer to reacquire supplier Spirit AeroSystems (-3.96% to US$31.76) from an all-cash to all-stock offer that valued the target at US$35 per share.

US equity markets logged modest declines on Friday (21 June) as semiconductor stocks retreated for a second straight session - Dow inched +16-points or +0.04% higher, with Intel Corp (up +1.53%) and Nike Inc (+1.68%) rising over >1.5%. Boeing Co edged +0.15% higher amid reports it was nearing a deal to acquire supplier Spirit AeroSystems (+6%). Apple Inc dropped -1.04%, falling in the final minutes of the session - possibly a byproduct of Friday night AEST’s triple witching (the simultaneous expiration of stock options, stock index futures, and stock index options contracts) or a sizeable rebalancing of the US$70B Technology Select Sector SPDR Fund. Goldman Sachs Group Inc (down -1.72%) and JPMorgan Chase & Co (-1.19%) were both under pressure after the U.S. Federal Deposit Insurance Corp (FDIC) and the Federal Reserve Board on Friday (21 June) said they have found “shortcomings” in the so-called living wills of four of the eight largest U.S. banks. Since the 2008 financial crisis and the Dodd-Frank legislation to shore up the U.S. banking system, big banks have been required to file living wills with regulators to lay out plans for an orderly bankruptcy. Meanwhile, New York Fed's Liberty Street Economics blog cautioned last Thursday (20 June) that the big US banks face growing spillover risks from non-banks that could trigger "vectors of shock transmission and amplification, forcing authorities to intervene and do so en masse," the post said, adding that the disruptions "could be rather severe."

US equity markets retreated as last week’s artificial intelligence (AI) and semiconductor sell-off continued amid some tentative signs of a change in market leadership - Dow rose +261-points or +0.67%, with Amgen Inc (up +3.24%),  Chevron Corp (+2.60%) and Goldman Sachs Group Inc (+2.65%) all gaining over >2.5%.  Apple Inc added +0.31% despite the iPhone maker being charged by the European Union for failing to comply with a new digital-competition law. Meanwhile, The Wall Street Journal reported that Apple has held discussions with Meta Platforms Inc (+0.83%) about potentially integrating Meta’s generative AI model into Apple Intelligence, the company’s AI strategy for iPhones, iPads, and Macs.

US equity markets mixed after resuming trading following the Juneteenth holiday, with semiconductor stocks weighing on the Nasdaq - Dow gained +300-points or +0.77%. Salesforce Inc (up +4.31%) and Chevron Corp (+2.2%) were the leading performers in the 30-stock index. Amazon.com Inc +1.8% as Anthropic, the OpenAI competitor it backs, unveiled a more advanced version of its Claude chatbot.

US equity and bond markets were CLOSED overnight AEST in observance of Juneteenth National Independence Day. In US economic data, the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) Housing Market Index for June. A preliminary reading of Building Permits for May, the Philadelphia Fed Manufacturing Index for June, and the latest weekly jobless claims figures are released tonight AEST.

The S&P 500 and Nasdaq booked fresh record closing highs ahead of the Juneteenth public holiday. The Dow edged +57 points or +0.15% higher. Goldman Sachs Group Inc (up +1.61%), Verizon Communications Inc (+1.57%), Home Depot Inc (+1.25%) and JPMorgan Chase & Co (+1.04%) all rising over >1%. Boeing Co lost -1.91% as outgoing CEO David Calhoun called the company culture “less than perfect” in Senate testimony related to the jet maker’s manufacturing and safety standards.

US equity markets rallied, buoyed by fresh gains for the technology sector - Dow rose +189-points or +0.49% to snap a four session losing streak, with Apple Inc (up +1.97%) the leading performer in the 30-stock index after scrapping its “buy now, pay later” service, which it launched in the US only last year. The tech giant says it is pivoting to a new instalment loans service offered through third-party credit and debit cards. Merck & Co rose over >1% in after-hours trading (having declined -0.94% in the regular session) after receiving US regulatory approval for its next-generation vaccine (Capvaxive) to protect adults from pneumococcal disease, which is set to challenge Pfizer Inc’s (down -2%) blockbuster Prevnar shot

US equity markets settled mixed on Friday (14 June) to close out a big week of inflation updates and Federal Reserve interest rate forecasts, with the technology sector powering to fresh records - Dow fell for a fourth straight session, easing -58-points or -0.15%. Caterpillar Inc (down -1.50%) and Dow Inc (-1.86%) both fell 1.5%+ to be the worst performers in the 30-stock index on Friday (14 June).

US equity markets logged modest gains, with fresh gains for technology stocks lifting the S&P 500 and Nasdaq to their fourth consecutive record close - Dow eased -65-points or -0.17%, with Salesforce Inc (down -2.87%) and Amazon.com Inc (-1.64%) the worst performers in the 30-stock index. Boeing Co fell -1.08% said it has found improperly torqued fasteners on some of its undelivered 787 Dreamliners, the latest in a series of quality problems. The fastener problem does not make the wide-body plane unsafe to fly, and it has not stopped delivering the aircraft to customers. Apple Inc rose +0.55% to US$214.24, lifting the company’s market capitalisation to US$3.285 trillion to usurp Microsoft Corp (+0.12%, market cap US$3.282 trillion) as the most valuable US company. Apple hadn’t closed with a market cap above Microsoft’s since 24 January, according to Dow Jones Market Data.

The S&P 500 and Nasdaq posted record closing highs for a third straight session, buoyed by a softer-than-expected consumer inflation reading for May and signs that Federal Reserve officials could start to cut interest rates this year - Dow slipped -35-points or -0.09%. Apple Inc gained +2.86%, logging a record closing high (US$213.07) for a second straight session and settled US$12B shy of Microsoft Corp (+1.94%) in market capitalisation terms. Caterpillar Inc added +0.43% the board of the manufacturer of construction and mining equipment approved an additional US$20B in share buybacks and raised its dividend (by +US$0.11c to US$1.41). Nike Inc fell -2.28% after a European court dismissed its bid to trademark the term “Footware,” a portmanteau combining “foot” and “software” or “hardware.”

US equity markets ticked higher, with the S&P 500 and Nasdaq logging fresh record closing highs ahead of US inflation figures and the Federal Reserve’s latest monetary policy decision later in the week - Dow added +69-points or +0.18%. Walmart Inc gained +1.64%, buoyed by an upgrade from analysts at Bank of America, who cited the potential benefits from “a new wave of tech diffusion.”   Apple Inc shed -1.91% after the company’s latest Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) kicked off overnight (running through until Friday night AEST (14 June)) with a with a demonstration of Apple Intelligence, the tech giant's highly anticipated custom artificial intelligence (AI) system built into the newest iPhone, iPad, and Mac operating systems.

US equity markets settled little changed ahead of the release of the key non-farm payrolls figures tonight AEST - Dow added +79-points or +0.20%, with Amazon.com Inc (up +2.05%) and Salesforce Inc (+2.63%) rising over >2%.The broader S&P500 dipped -0.02%, with Utilities (1.03%), Industrials (-0.60%) and Information Technology (-0.47%) settling in the red.  Consumer Discretionary (up +0.97%) and Energy (+0.55%) both climbed over >0.50%. PayPal Inc rallied +5.49%, logging its largest single-day percentage increase since 19 January, after striking a bullish tone at an investor conference and as investors become more positive on the company’s new Fastline product.  Uber Technologies Inc gained +4.68% after competitor Lyft Inc (+1.03%) offered an optimistic forecast for future bookings at its first investor day.

US equity markets rallied, with the S&P 500 and Nasdaq hitting fresh record highs after several pieces of economic data pointed to a slowing U.S. economy, raising hopes for interest rate cuts later this year - Dow added +96-points or +0.25%. Intel Corp rose +2.50% after announcing after the close of the previous session that it would sell a 49% stake in Irish manufacturing venture Fab34 to Apollo Global Management for US$11B. The investment is part of Intel's "Smart Capital" strategy, its plan to revitalize and expand its supply chain without putting too much strain on its own balance sheet by bringing in outside investments. Intel will retain a 51% controlling stake in the Fab 34 facility.

US equity markets edged higher in choppy trading following some soft manufacturing data and with traders eying the non-farm payrolls report at the end of the week - Dow fell -115-points or -0.30%. Chevron Corp dropped -2.98%, tracking crude prices lower. Heavy industry stalwarts Dow Inc (down -2.71%) and Caterpillar Inc (-2.12%) retreated following some weak manufacturing data.

US equity markets edged higher after fresh job openings data suggested the labour market continued to cool in April - Dow gained +140-points or +0.36%. Cisco Systems Inc rose +1.65% after it launched a US$1B fund to invest in artificial intelligence (AI) startups. Intel Corp fell -0.86% slipped 0.9% after unveiling its next-generation Xeon 6 AI data centre chips at the Computex trade fair in Taipei alongside other leading chipmakers. The next-generation chips come in two types: a more powerful processor to handle the workload of larger AI infrastructure requirements, and an efficiency model, which the company has positioned as a replacement for earlier-generation chips.

US equity markets advanced to cap another strong month - Dow rallied +575-points or +1.51%. Salesforce Inc rebounded +7.54% after slumping almost 20% a day earlier after the cloud client relationship management software group provided weaker-than-expected fiscal second quarter and full year guidance.  Consumer brands that have been struggling with sticky inflation and under pressure consumers also traded strongly, with McDonald’s Corp up +2.71%, Home Depot Inc +1.73% and Coca-Cola Co +1.55%.

US equity markets - Dow fell -330-points or 0.86%. Salesforce Inc slumped over >19.74% in extended trading after the cloud client relationship management software group provided weaker-than-expected fiscal second quarter and full year guidance after the close of the previous session. Technology giants Microsoft Corp (down -3.38%) and Amazon.com Inc (-1.48%) were weaker amid a broader sell-off for the sector. Verizon Communications Inc rose +3.15% after being awarded a 10-year U.S. Navy contract valued at more than >US$2.6B.The broader S&P500 lost -0.60%, with the losses concentrated in the Information Technology sector (down -2.45%). Nine of the elven primary sectors advanced, with Real Estate (up +1.51%) and Utilities (+1.41%) rising over >1%.The Nasdaq dropped -1.08%. Nvidia Corp fell -3.77% amid reports U.S. officials had slowed the issuing of licenses to advanced chipmakers sending shipments to the Middle East. Fellow chipmakers Broadcom Inc and Qualcomm Inc lost -1.91% and -1.66%, respectively. Only two of the so-called ‘Magnificent Seven’ large capitalisation technology stocks advanced overnight, with Tesla Inc up +1.48% and Apple Inc +0.53%.The small capitalisation Russell 2000 gained +0.69%.  

US equity markets retreated, led lower by declines in rate-sensitive sectors as concerns around the timing and the scale of the Federal Reserve's interest rate cuts pushed Treasury yields higher and pressured risk assets - Dow dropped -411-points or -1.06%. Unitedhealth Group Inc dropped -3.76% after Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Andrew Witty said at the Bernstein 40th Annual Strategic Decisions Conference in New York that he expected some “disturbance” in the company’s Medicaid profitability models from the resumption of eligibility reviews following the lifting of the COVID-19 emergency declaration.

US equity markets resumed trading on a mixed note following the Memorial Day long weekend, although Nvidia Corp continued to power ahead and push the Nasdaq to fresh record highs - Dow fell -217-points or -0.55%, paring an earlier decline of over >300-points. Healthcare names led the 30-stock index lower, with Merck & Co down -2.63%, Amgen Inc -1.85% and Johnson & Johnson -1.76%. Just seven stocks in the Dow finished in positive territory.  Chevron Corp rose +0.82% after its US$53B acquisition of Hess Corporation (+0.44%) was approved by the target’s shareholders.

In US corporate earnings, Cava Group and Hewlett Packard Enterprise post quarterly results tonight AEST. In US economic data, the S&P Core Logic Case-Shiller Home Price for March, the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) House Price Index for March, the Conference Board’s Consumer Confidence survey for May, and the Dallas Fed Manufacturing Index for May are released tonight AEST.

US equity markets retreated, reversing earlier gains as the latest ‘flash’ purchasing managers indices (PMIs) fuelled fresh interest rate concerns and overshadowed a renewed rally for chipmaking giant Nvidia Corp - Dow dropped -606-points or -1.53%, marking the largest daily percentage decline since 22 March and with all of the 30-stock index’s components settling in the red. Boeing Co shed -7.55% after Chief Financial Officer (CFO) Brian West addressed an investor conference in New York and warned investors that the company’s second-quarter cash burn could match or be worse than the first quarter’s US$3.9B burn and that production struggles are likely to continue in the current quarter. Moreover, Boeing is unlikely to see positive cash flow this year. The comments came after Boeing undertook a US$10B corporate-debt issuance in late April. Intel Corp fell -426%, while Johnson & Johnson (-2.48%), McDonald’s Corp (-2.95%) and Walt Disney Co (-2.29%) all fell over >2%.

US equity markets retreated, falling in the afternoon session after the minutes from the Federal Reserve's early May monetary policy meeting put a spotlight on inflation risks - Dow fell -202-points or -0.51%, logging its worst session of the month to date.The broader S&P500 eased -0.27% Energy (down -1.83%) and Utilities (-1.18%) falling over >1% to lead eight of the eleven primary sectors lower.  Lululemon Athletica slumped -7.23% to their lowest level in more than a year a day after the maker of fashion workout clothes shook up its organisational structure and announced the departure of Chief Product Officer Sun Choe.The Nasdaq slipped -0.18%. PayPal Holdings Inc fell -2.98% after the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau issued a rule stipulating that Buy Now, Pay Later users are entitled to the same consumer protections as credit card usersThe small capitalisation Russell 2000 fell -0.79%.  

US equity markets mostly firmer to open the week, with technology stocks underpinning the gains - Dow fell -197-points or -0.49%. JPMorgan Chase & Co dropped -4.50% after Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Jamie Dimon hinted during the bank’s annual investment meeting that he was preparing to retire after nearly 20 years at the helm of America's largest bank. Mr Dimon also said the bank would not repurchase shares at their current levels. Microsoft Corp gained 1.22% after the technology giant unveiled a new line of personal computers equipped with artificial-intelligence (AI) chips and the company’s CoPilot AI software.

US equity markets ticked higher as investors digested results from retailers and eyed the released of semi-conductor giant Nvidia Corp’s (up +0.64%) first quarter result after the closing bell tonight AEST - Dow edged +66-points or +0.17% higher. International Business Machines (IBM) Corp rose +2.09%after it said it was expanding several artificial intelligence (AI) partnerships with companies including Meta Platforms Inc (down -0.90%) and Salesforce Inc (-1.15%). Microsoft Corp added +0.87% to US$429.04 to close just cents shy of a record high after it unveiled new tools to develop AI software during the first day of its Microsoft Build developer conference.

US equity markets settled with modest gains on Friday (17 May), with the Dow closing above the 40,000 mark for the first time - Dow rallied +134-points or +0.34% to 40,003.59 a day after briefly topping the 40,000 mark for the first time in its 128-year history. It has taken 874 trading days for the 30-stock index to climb from 30,000 (which it steeled above on 24 November, 2020) to 40,000.