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US equity markets settled with modest losses a day after both the Dow and S&P500 recorded fresh record closing highs – Dow eased -97-points or -0.29% a day after logging its 18th record closing high (33,527.19) of 2021. The broader S&P500 slipped -0.10% after touching a fresh record intra-day high (4,081.37), snapping a three session winning streak that lifted the index to a record closing high (4,077.91) a day earlier. Information Technology (down -0.38%) and Health Care (-0.36%) led five of the eleven primary sectors lower, while Utilities (up +0.53%) was the leading primary sector performer. Shares of airlines (Delta Air Lines up +2.8%) and cruise lines (Carnival Corp +1.74% and Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings +4.61%) continued to trade strongly. The Nasdaq dipped -0.05% after logging three straight session gains of over >1.5%. The small capitalisation Russell 2000 index lost -0.25%.

US equity markets resumed trading after the Easter long weekend, with the Dow and S&P500 sweeping to fresh record closing highs following a brace of positive economic data last Friday (2 April) – Dow rallied +374-points or +1.13% 33,527.19, surpassing its previous record close of 33,171.37 hit on 9 March. The broader S&P500 +1.44% to 4,077.91. Tesla Inc gained +4.43% following last Friday’s (2 April) release that recorded first quarter deliveries rose to a better-than-expected 184,800 vehicles, up from 181K deliveries in the fourth quarter of 2020 and versus consensus analyst forecasts for 162K. Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings jumped +7.18% after the company asked federal health authorities to let it sail from U.S. ports starting 4 July. The Nasdaq gained +1.67% to 13,705.59, logging its third straight gain of over >1.5%. Amazon.com Inc rallied +% toward a six week high. The technology-centric index needs to gain a further ~1.2% to 13,870.076 to officially exit correction territory. The small capitalisation Russell 2000 index added +0.49%.

US equity markets concluded the month and quarter on a mostly positive note, with gains for the technology sector lifting the S&P500 to a record high – Dow down 85-points or -0.26% . Goldman Sachs Group Inc (down -1.51%) announced plans to offer access to Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies to wealthy investors. The broader S&P500 +0.36% to 3,972.89 and a record closing high, paring gains late in the session after also touching a fresh record intra-day high (3,994.41). Information Technology (up +1.50%) led five of the elven primary sectors higher. Energy (down -0.93%) and Financials (-0.90%) were the worst performing primary sectors. The technology-centric Nasdaq rose +1.54%. Apple Inc (+1.88%), Microsoft Corp (+1.69%) and Facebook Inc (+2.27%) all gained at least 1.6%. UBS raised their recommendation on Apple Inc to a ‘Buy’, citing stable long-term demand for iPhones with better authorised service providers. The small capitalisation Russell 2000 index rose +1.13%. US equity and bond markets will be CLOSED on Friday night AEST (3 April).

US equity markets settled with modest declines in what was a largely uneventful session – Dow -104-points or -0.31% a day after logging its 17th record closing high (33,171.37) of 2021. Apple Inc (down -1.23%) and Microsoft Corp (-1.44%) were the worst performing Dow constituents. Goldman Sachs Group Inc (up +2%) and Morgan Stanley (+1.6%) advanced, with both banks moving large blocks of assets before other large banks that lent to Archegos Capital Management, as the scale of the hedge fund’s losses became apparent, according to The Wall Street Journal, helping to limit their losses amid the stock liquidation. The broader S&P500 -0.32%, with Consumer Staples (down -1.14%) and Information Technology (-0.95%) leading eight of the eleven primary sectors lower. Consumer Discretionary (up +0.75%) and Financials (+0.71%) were the leading primary sector performers. Classic re-opening plays rallied after the release of strong consumer confidence data. American Airlines Group Inc jumped +528%, United Airlines Holdings +3.58%. Carnival Corp and Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings Ltd climbed +3.98% and +3.78% respectively. Wells Fargo & Co rose +2.5% after the lender said it had a prime brokerage relationship with Archegos Capital and that it no longer had any exposure and did not experience any losses. PayPal Holdings Inc added +0.4% after the payments company said it would start letting U.S. customers purchase items with cryptocurrencies. The Nasdaq dipped -0.06%, paring an earlier decline of over >1%. The small capitalisation Russell 2000 index rebounded +1.72%.

US equity markets mixed amid concerns about the potential spill-over effects after a large investment fund was forced to liquidate massive holdings in stocks – Dow rose +98-points or +0.30%, erasing an earlier -160-point loss to log its 17th record closing high (33,171.37) of 2021. Goldman Sachs Group Inc lost -0.51%. CNBC reported that Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley, and Deutsche Bank facilitated the liquidation of Archegos Capital Management’s holdings in many of the Chinese internet names through unregistered trades The broader S&P500 dipped -0.09%, paring an earlier decline of as much as -0.8%. Energy (down -1.26%) and Financials (-0.93%) were the worst performing primary sectors, while Utilities (up 1.07%), Consumer Staples (+1.03%) and Communication Services (+1.02%) were the leading primary sector performers. ViacomCBS CI B (down 6.68%), Discovery Inc (-1.60%) and Baidu Inc (-1.87%) swung between losses and gains after intense selling pressure last week, with the companies among those roiled late last week by the forced liquidation of more than >$20B of positions linked to Archegos Capital Management. Southwest Airlines Co fell -0.54% after the airline placed 100 firm orders for the Boeing 737 Max 7 with the first 30 of those aircraft to be delivered in 2022. As part of an agreement with Boeing Co (up +2.31%), Southwest also converted 70 Max 8 firm orders to Max 7 firm orders and added 155 MAX options for MAX 7 or MAX 8 aircraft for years 2022 through 2029. The Nasdaq eased -0.60%. Applied Materials Inc fell -2.28% after the company said its agreement to purchase Kokusai Electric Corp was terminated because the company didn’t obtain approval for the deal by Chinese regulators in time. The small capitalisation Russell 2000 index fell -2.83%.

US equity markets rallied to cap a see-saw week for the stock market, with all three benchmark indices logging gains of over >1% – Dow rallied +453-points or +1.39% to 33,072.88, jumping more than >150-points in the final 8 minutes of the session. Boeing Co rose +% as the planemaker plans to resume delivery of its 787 Dreamliners this week The broader S&P500 +1.66% to a record closing high of 3,974.54 and extending its 2021 gains to 5.8%. Energy (up +2.62%), Information Technology (+2.54%), Materials (+2.49%) and Real Estate (+2.47%) all gained over >2% to lead ten of the eleven primary sectors higher. Communication Services (down -0.34%) was the only primary sector to close in the red. L Brands Inc rose +3.65% after the retailer raised its profit outlook for the first quarter, citing a boost from government stimulus and from loosened COVID-related restrictions. The Nasdaq rose +1.24%, erasing an earlier decline of -0.8. The small capitalisation Russell 2000 index gained +1.76%. The Russell 1000 value index, which includes energy, banks and industrial stocks, has gained more than 10% this year, outperforming its counterpart the Russell 1000 growth index, which is just above break-even for the year.

US equity markets retreated, fading in the closing hour of trading amid a fresh sell off for technology stocks – Dow dipped -3-points or -0.01%, paring an earlier climb of ~370-points. The broader S&P500 lost -0.55%, fading in the final hour of trading for a sixth straight session and unwinding an earlier gain of ~0.8%. Communication Services (down -1.66%), Consumer Discretionary (-1.52%) and Information Technology (-1.21%) all fell over >1% to be the worst performing primary sectors. The Energy sector (up +2.52%) comfortably led the upside, with Chevron Corp up +2.68% and Exxon Mobil Corp +2.03%. General Motors Co (down -0.62%) extended production cuts in North America due to a worldwide semiconductor chip shortage. Shares of cruise operators fell to session lows after Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said the sailing order limiting cruises will stay in place until 1 November. Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings Ltd dropped -4.9% following the news, while Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd and Carnival Corp fell -2.77% and -1.89%, respectively. The Nasdaq dropped -2.01%, with Apple Inc (down -2.0%), Facebook Inc (-2.92%) and Netflix Inc (-2.67%) all slid more than >2%. The small capitalisation Russell 2000 index fell for a third straight session, down -2.40%.

US equity markets retreated, extending losses in the closing hour of trading although traders struggled to pinpoint a particular reason for the weakness – Dow down -308-points or -0.94%. Intel Corp surged over >5.5% in after-hours trading after the chipmaker announced aggressive plans to expand its manufacturing capacity to take back its leadership position in the industry. Newly installed Chief Executive Pat Gelsinger, who had spent decades at Intel focused on the engineering side of the business before moving onto Chief Operating Officer at EMC Corp and CEO of VMware Inc, laid out an ambitious roadmap to bounce back from recent manufacturing problems that surfaced last year. The broader S&P500 fell -0.76%, with Materials (down -2.10%) leading eight of the eleven primary sectors lower. Utilities (up +1.52%) was the leading primary sector performer. The technology-centric Nasdaq shed -1.12%. Microsoft Corp rose +0.67% following a report by Bloomberg News that the company is in discussions to purchase video game-focused chat platform Discord for more than >US$10B. The small capitalisation Russell 2000 index tumbled -3.58% to record its worst single-session performance since 25 February. Overnight marked the anniversary of the pandemic lows hit on 23 March 2020, when all of the major U.S. stock benchmarks put in their bear-market lows. In broader corporate news, Robinhood Markets Inc, the online brokerage at the heart of the historic retail trading frenzy that gripped Wall Street earlier this year, has confidentially submitted plans to regulators for a U.S. stock market listing, according to a Reuters report.

US equity markets climbed as technology stocks continued to stage a rebound – Dow added +103-points or +0.32% . The broader S&P500 rose 0.70%, with Information Technology (up +1.93%), Consumer Staples (+1.16%) and Real Estate (+1.11%) all up over 1% and leading seven of the eleven primary sectors higher. Financials (down -1.30%) and Energy (-1.01%) both lost over >1% to be the worst performing primary sectors. More broadly, Industrials got a boost after the New York Times reported that President Biden is eyeing an infrastructure deal of as much as US$3 trillion to boost the economy. Kansas City Southern surged +11.12% after Canadian Pacific Railway Ltd agreed to acquire the railroad operator in a US$25 billion cash-and-stock deal to create the first railway spanning the United States, Mexico and Canada. The Nasdaq rallied +1.23%, with Apple Inc (up +2.83%), Microsoft Corp (+2.45%) and Netflix Inc (+2.13%) all gained at least 2%. The small capitalisation Russell 2000 index lost -0.90%.

US equity markets mixed amid a reversal of a recent trend that has seen value stocks outperform growth stocks, with Treasury yields taking a breather from their recent climb – Dow down -234-points or -0.71% Goldman Sachs Group Inc (down -1.09%) and JPMorgan Chase & Co (-1.59%) both fell after the Federal Reserve declined to extend pandemic-related regulatory relief for major US banks. Visa Inc dropped -6.24% after a report said the Justice Department has opened an investigation into its debit card business and possible anticompetitive practices. The broader S&P500 dipped -0.06%. Communication Services and Consumer Discretionary both advanced +0.80% to lead six of the eleven primary sectors higher. Real Estate (down -1.26%) and Financials (-1.2%) both declined over >1% to be the worst performing sector. FedEx Corporation rallied +6.1% after the economic bellwether’s fiscal third quarter numbers released after the closing bell of the previous session topped consensus expectations. The technology-centric Nasdaq gained +0.76% . Facebook Inc gained +4.12% after Chief Executive Mark Zuckerberg said Apple Inc’s (down -0.45%) imminent privacy policy changes on ad sales would leave the social network in a “stronger position.” The small capitalisation Russell 2000 index rose +0.88%.