Morgans AM

US equity markets fell as investors digested some sobering remarks on the economy from Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell - Dow down -517-points or -2.17%, with American Express Co (down -5.19%), Dow Inc (-3.43%) and Raytheon Technologies Corp (-3.25%) all posting declines of more than >3%. The broader S&P500 shed -1.75%, with Energy (down -4.39%) and Financials (3.01%) leading all eleven primary sectors lower. General Electric fell -3.5% to its lowest close (US$5.79) since 20 December 1991, amid growing concerns over the troubled aerospace industry as the COVID-19 pandemic continues. Mastercard Inc rose almost +3% in the extended session after observing that it has detected a slight rebound in credit-card use in the two weeks ended 7 May, in part due to the loosening of social-distancing rules in several areas and the impact of fiscal stimulus in the U.S. NASDAQ lost -1.55%.

•US equity markets rallied albeit pared gains in the final hour of trading to see the benchmark indices settle well shy of their best levels of the session - Dow up +211-points or +0.89%, paring an earlier climb of as much as +430-points or ~1.82%. Pfizer Inc fell -3.1% The broader S&P500 gained +1.15%, with Energy (up +2.47%), Financials (+2.22%) and Materials (+2.13%) leading nine of the eleven primary sectors higher. Consumer Staples (-0.41%) and Health Care (-0.05%) were the laggards. Airlines rebounded from the across-the-board declines of the previous session, with American Airlines Group Inc up +3.77%, Delta Air Lines Inc +4.58% and United Airlines Holdings Inc +1.06% The NASDAQ rose +1.41% to climb back into positive territory for 2020 (up +0.08% calendar year-to-date) after being down as much as 25%. The technology-centric index is up 35.4% from its 23 March low. PayPal Holdings Inc jumped +14.32% following the company’s first quarter result after the close of the previous session that saw the digital payments pioneer note that trends were improving in April and beyond, with 1 May marking the company’s highest volume transaction day in its history.

•US equity markets lost some steam late in session to settle lower although technology stocks traded strongly - Dow down -218-points or -0.91%. UnitedHealth Group Inc (down -1.71%) and Travelers Companies Inc (down -4.02%) each shaved more than >20 points off the index. The broader S&P500 shed -0.70%, with Information Technlogy (up +0.71%) and Consumer Discretionary (+0.31%) the only primary sectors to advance. Utilities (down -3.51%), Energy (-2.63%) and Financials (-2.31%) were the worst performing primary sectors. Airline stocks were the subject of another broad sell-off (American Airlines Group Inc down -2.7%, Delta Air Lines Inc -3.3%, United Airlines Holdings Inc -5.0% and Southwest Airlines Co -5.36%). NASDAQ +0.51%, with Netflix Inc up +2.41% and Amazon.com Inc +1.15%.

US markets advanced for a second day but settle well off their session highs, with a growing number of states beginning to re-open their economies - Dow up +133-points or +0.56%, paring an earlier climb of as much as +419-points. The broader S&P500 gained +0.90%, with Healthcare (up +2.15%) and Information Technology (+1.42%) leading ten of the eleven primary sectors higher. Financials dipped -0.07%. NASDAQ +1.13%.
The Wall Street Journal reported that researchers at New York University and the University of Maryland School of Medicine said overnight that they had begun injecting people with the first of four vaccine candidates from Pfizer Inc (up +3.64%) and Germany’s BioNTech SE (+9.20%).

Morgans AM: Monday 4 May 2020 by Morgans Financial

US equity markets rallied, buoyed by biotechnology giant Gilead Science Inc saying it was aware of positive data out of a clinical trial being conducted by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases' into its Remdesivir antiviral drug for use against the coronavirus- Dow up +532-points or +2.21% The broader S&P500 gained +2.66%, with Energy (up +7.35%) leading nine of the eleven primary sectors higher. Utilities (down -0.92%) and Consumer Staples (-0.41%) were the laggards. The technology-centric NASDAQ gained +3.57%. The small capitalisation Russell 2000 index rallied +4.8%.

US equity markets retreated, with the benchmark indices all relinquishing earlier session gains of over >1% as major technology stocks retreated ahead of impending quarterly results releases - Dow eased -33-points or -0.13%, snapping a four session winning streak and unwinding an earlier ~378-point/1.6% rally. The broader S&P500 lost -0.50%, having gained as much as +1.5% earlier in the session. Energy (up +2.19%) and Materials (+1.96%) led seven of the eleven primary sector higher. Healthcare (down -2.13%) was the laggard. The NASDAQ dropped -1.4% after being up as much a +1.2% at its session highs, with investors eyeing the release of quarterly numbers from a host of major technology companies in the coming days.

US equity markets climbed as investors eyed moves to re-open the economy- Dow rallied +359-points or +1.51% (to 24,133.78), extending its gains into a fourth straight session and logging its first close above >24,000 since 17 April. JPMorgan Chase & Co (up +4.31%) and Walt Disney Co (+4.81%)were the best-performing Dow stocks, rising more than >4% each. Boeing Co rose +1.03% in extended trading after the company announced that it plans to reopen its Dreamliner factory in South Carolina in early May after it shut down operations there for nearly a month because of the Covid-19 pandemic. The broader S&P500 gained +1.47%,with Financials (up +3.61%) and Real Estate (+3.00%) leading all eleven primary sectors higher. The S&P500 has now recovered almost 30% from its March lows. General Motors Co recouped an earlier session decline to gain +2.28% after announcing that it would suspend its dividend and stock repurchases to preserve cash. The NASDAQ gained +1.11%. Tesla Inc fell -1.92% in the extended session after San Francisco Bay Area authorities extended the regional shelter-in-place orders through the end of May, quashing hopes that Tesla's Fremont, California factory would restart soon. Tesla stock ended the regular session up +10.15% following an earlier report that the factory, Tesla's only U.S. car-making plant, was readying a resumption of operations as the Bay Area's shutdown orders were due to expire next week. The small capitalisation Russell 2000 index outperformed with a +4% gain.

US equity markets advanced after a choppy session to end the week - Dow up +260-points or +1.11% Boeing Co fell -6.4% following a report in The Wall Street Journal that said that the Max jet return is expected to be delayed until late summer or early fall. The broader S&P500 gained +1.39%, with Information Technology (up +2.11%) leading all eleven primary sectors higher. Gilead Sciences rebounded +% after Reuters reported that a U.S. government-led trial of remdesivir was running ahead of schedule. The report said those results could be ready by mid-May, with preliminary numbers possibly out earlier. NASDAQ +1.65%. Facebook Inc gained +2.7% after the social-media platform said it is launching a new video chat feature that appears to be a rival to Zoom Video Communications Inc (down -6.1%) US:ZM and Microsoft Corp’s (up +1.8%) Teams service. The small-capitalisation Russell 2000 index gained +1.6%. Retailer J.C. Penney Co fell -11.3% after The Wall Street Journal reported that it was in advanced talks for bankruptcy financing. The U.S. House of Representatives overwhelmingly approved a US$484B coronavirus relief bill – the fourth passed to address the impact of the pandemic - funding small businesses and hospitals and pushing the total spending response to the crisis to an unprecedented near US$3 trillion. The measure passed the Democratic-led House by a vote of 388-5, with one member voting present. House members were meeting for the first time in weeks because of the coronavirus pandemic. For the week, the Dow fell -1.93% S&P500 -1.32% Nasdaq -0.18%

US equity markets climbed after two days of declines, buoyed by a combination of stabilising crude markets, some better-than-expected corporate earnings releases and expectations that the House of Representatives will pass a near US$500B emergency package that will provide additional aid to small business and funding for hospitals that was cleared by the Senate earlier this week - Dow up +457-points or +1.99% The broader S&P500 gained +2.29%, with Information Technology (up +3.87%) and Energy (+3.58%) leading all eleven primary sectors higher. L Brand Inc fell -15.51% and was briefly halted trading following a report that private equity firm Sycamore Partners was looking to cancel its deal to buy a majority stake in Victoria’s Secret. Avis Budget Group Inc rose more than >7% in the extended session after the rental-car company said it expects first-quarter sales modestly below consensus, thanks to a busy January and February. The technology-centric NASDAQ rose +2.75%. Facebook Inc (up +6.72%) announced that it will invest US$5.7B for a 9.99% stake in Jio Platforms, the digital technology arm of Indian billionaire Mukesh Ambani's sprawling conglomerate Reliance Industries.