Morgans AM

US equity markets rallied strongly as Americans headed to the polls, with gains accelerating in the final hour of trading - Dow rallied +555-points or +2.06% and was briefly up over >700-points. Walgreens Boots Alliance Inc (up +4.41%) and Goldman Sachs Group Inc (+4.06%) both gained more than >4% to be the leading Dow constituents. The S&P500 gained +1.78%, with the rise marking the second-best presidential Election Day performance for the broader index. Industrials (up +2.91%), Financials (+2.20%) and Consumer Discretionary (+2.03%) logging gains of over >2% and leading ten of the eleven primary sectors higher. Energy (down -0.75%) was the only sector to close in the red. Carnival Corp said its North American cruise brands will extend a pause in operations to 31 December from 1 December, with Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings Ltd announcing the same extended suspension on Monday (2 November).. Nasdaq +1.85%. The small capitalisation Russell 2000 index outperformed with a +2.91% gain.

US equity markets climbed on the eve of the presidential election - Dow rallied +423-points or +1.60% . Honeywell International Inc (up +5.25%) and Walgreens Boots Alliance Inc (+5.14%) were the best-performing Dow constituents, gaining more than >5% each. The broader S&P500 +1.23%, with Energy (up +3.67%) and Materials (+3.39%) leading all eleven primary sectors higher. Beaten down value stocks soundly outperforming growth stocks. The Nasdaq +0.42% although some big technology stocks continued to struggle in the wake of their quarterly results last week, with Facebook Inc down -0.67% and Amazon.com Inc -1.04%.

US equity markets extended losses on Friday (30 October) led by falls for a number of big technology heavyweights following quarterly results after the close of last Thursday’s (29 October) session, with the benchmark indices settling off their worst levels of the session but logging their worst monthly decline since March - Dow down -158-points or -0.60%, paring an earlier drop of over >500-points . The broader S&P500 -1.1%, with Consumer Discretionary (down -3.00%) and Information Technology (-2.44%) leading nine of the eleven primary sectors lower. Financials (up +0.27%) and Energy (+0.19%) were the only primary sectors to advance. Cruise operators traded strongly (Carnival Corp up +5.62% and Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd +4.81%) after the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) chose not to extend its full no-sail order, and has instead gone with a "phased approach" to resuming cruise operations. The technology-centric Nasdaq dropped -2.5%, having been down over >3% earlier in the session. Facebook Inc (down -6.31%), Apple Inc (-5.60%), Amazon.com Inc (-5.45%). Google parent Alphabet Inc bucked the weaker trend among the big technology names, rising +3% after the internet-search giant third quarter earnings numbers released after the close of last Thursday’s (29 October) session crushed consensus analyst estimates and recorded a strong rebound in its core advertising revenue. Netflix Inc closed down -5.6% after the streaming company announced after Thursday’s (29 October) that it will raise prices for U.S. subscribers. Twitter Inc slumped -21.1% - its worst single session decline since 2014 and marking a drop of -US$8.8B in market capitalisation terms - after the microblogging site reported after the closing bell of the previous session that monetised third quarter daily active users fell short of analysts’ expectations (up +1M to 187M versus analysts’ forecasts for 195M). Twitter is still up ~88% from is 18 March low.

US equity markets advanced, clawing back some of the previous session’s steep declines as investors eyed quarterly results from a host of big technology stocks - Dow +139-points or +0.52% . Boeing Co announced a four-part bond deal a day after reporting third-quarter results. Boeing said in a public filing Thursday that it may use proceeds from the bond sale to repay near-term debts. The broader S&P500 +1.19%, with six of the eleven primary sectors logging gains of more than >1%. Exxon Mobil Corp announced plans to cut its U.S. workforce by ~1,900 people, seeking to reduce costs to fend off lower demand for its products during the pandemic. Exxon earlier this month announced workforce cuts in Europe, not immediately detailing in which countries the layoffs would occur. Nasdaq +1.64%. Netflix Inc rallied +% after the streaming company announced it will raise prices for U.S. subscribers.

US equity markets slumped as European governments imposed new lockdowns to contain an autumn wave of the pandemic and as the U.S. case surge shows no signs of abating (with the 7-day rolling average of new daily cases remained above 71,000 on Monday (26 October), well above the July peak of about 67,000, according to Johns Hopkins University data) - Dow fell for a fourth straight session, tumbling -943-points or -3.43% - its steepest one day decline since 11 June. Microsoft Corp (down -5.1%) recorded the steepest decline of the Dow constituents. Travelers Cos Inc (up +2%) was the only Dow member to advance. The Dow has now suffered its longest losing streak since 28 February, 2020 when the market fell for seven straight trading days, according Dow Jones Market Data. Exxon Mobil Corp (down -3.81%) kept its fourth-quarter dividend flat at US$0.87c per share, signalling it expects coming cost-cutting will allow it to continue making the hefty payout. The broader S&P500 -3.53%, with Information Technology (down -4.33%), Energy (-4.22%) and Communications Services (-4.03%) all down over >4% and leading all eleven primary sectors into the red. ~97% of the companies in the S&P500 closed lower. It marked the sixteenth time this year that the S&P 500 has fallen by at least 3%, tying with the year-to-date total for 2008, when the last big recession began. The Nasdaq dropped -3.73% ahead of a host of Big Tech company earnings tonight AEST including Google-parent Alphabet Inc (down -5.46%), Amazon Inc (-3.76%), Apple Inc (-4.63%), Facebook Inc (-5.51%) and Twitter Inc (-5.34%). Separately, the Chief Executive Officers (CEO) CEOs from Alphabet, Facebook and Twitter appeared before Congress overnight to testify about Section 230, a law that protects the platforms from liability for the content users post. All components of the Nasdaq 100 declined with the exception of Automatic Data Processing Inc (up +6.20%). Both the S&P500 and Nasdaq joined the Dow in erasing their month to data gains.

US equity markets modestly weaker as investors digested another slew of quarterly corporate earnings releases - Dow down -222-points or -0.80% . The broader S&P500 -0.30% to 3,390.68, logging its first close below 3,400 since 6 October. Industrials (down -2.18%) and Financials (-1.91%) led eight of the eleven primary sectors lower. The technology-centric Nasdaq outperformed with a +0.64% gain. The chief executives of Alphabet Inc’s (up +0.87%) Google, Facebook Inc (+2.23%) and Twitter Inc (+4.68%) testify in front of a U.S. Senate Commerce subcommittee hearing titled, “Does Section 230’s Sweeping Immunity Enable Big Tech Bad Behaviour?” tonight AEST. The focus will be on how tech’s largest companies decide what content users can post on their platforms. In merger and acquisition (M&A) news, Advanced Micro Devices Inc (down -4.07%) announced an agreement to acquire Xilinx Inc (up +8.56%) in an all-stock deal valued at US$35B. Xilinx shareholders Will receive 1.7234 share of AMD for each share owned, equal to $US143 in cash.

US equity markets tumbled as COVID-19 cases climbed and negotiations for a fiscal stimulus package before the election stalled once again - Dow dropped -650-points or -2.29% to 27,685.38, logging its biggest single session drop since 3 September and erasing its October gains. The Dow was down as much as -965-points at its worst levels of the session. It also marked the indices’ first close below 2%. Travel-related stocks were under particular pressure, including airlines (Delta Air Lines down -6.09%, United Airlines Holdings Inc -7.02% and American Airlines Group Inc -6.35%) and cruise lines (Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd -9.65% and Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings -8.45%). Insurance giant American International Group Inc popped over >6% after the closing bell after announcing it intends to separate its life and retirement business from AIG. Nasdaq -1.64%. In merger and acquisition (M&A) news, Dunkin’ Brands Group Inc +16.11% after the New York Times reported the parent company of the former Dunkin’ Donuts and Baskin-Robbins ice cream was in talks to go private in a sale to private equity-backed Inspire Brands. Coca-Cola European Partners fell -1.90% after making a non-binding, indicative ~A$9.28B takeover proposal for Coca Cola Amatil (CCL.ASX).

A mixed performance for US equity markets to close out the week, leaving all three benchmark indices nursing weekly losses as uncertainty over the timeline of the coronavirus relief legislation continued to weigh on sentiment - Dow slipped -28-points or -0.10% . The broader S&P500 rose +0.34%, with Communication Services (up +1.08%) leading nine of the eleven primary sectors higher. Energy (down -0.55%) and Information Technology (-0.12%) were the only primary sectors to close lower. Intel Corp dropped -10.58% (logging the steepest percentage decline in the index) after the chip maker posted a larger-than-expected decline in third quarter revenue after the closing bell of Thursday’s (22 October) session. The Nasdaq added +0.37%. The chief executives of Alphabet Inc’s (%) Google, Facebook Inc (+2.39%) and Twitter Inc (+0.31%) will testify in front of a U.S. Senate Commerce subcommittee hearing titled, “Does Section 230’s Sweeping Immunity Enable Big Tech Bad Behaviour?” on Wednesday night AEST (28 October). The focus will be on how tech’s largest companies decide what content users can post on their platforms.

A value stock-led rally pushed the US equity indices higher after markets initially struggled for direction - Dow up +153-points or +0.54%. Energy heavyweights Exxon Mobil Corp and Chevron Corp gained +3.7% and 2.4% respectively. Banks also traded strongly, with JPMorgan Chase & Co gaining +3.5%. The broader S&P500 rose +0.52%, with the Energy sector (up +4.16%) the clear outperformer and leading eight of the eleven primary sectors higher. Real Estate (down -0.76%), Information Technology (-0.47%) and Consumer Staples (-0.22%) the laggards. The technology centric Nasdaq added +0.19%.

US equity markets settled lower after a choppy session - Dow fell -98-points or -0.35% . The broader S&P500 -0.22%, with Energy sector (down -1.99%) leading nine of the eleven primary sectors lower. Communication Services (up +1.2%) and Consumer Staples (+0.12%) were the only primary sectors to advance. The Nasdaq -0.29%. Snap Inc roared +28.3% higher and hit a record all-time high – pushing the Snapchat parent company’s valuation to more than >US$50B – following their third quarter result in the previous session. Facebook Inc rose +4.17% and Twitter Inc +8.39%,. However, Netflix Inc fell -6.92% following their third quarter result after the closing bell of the previous session that recorded a marked slowdown in subscriber growth.