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US equity markets dropped to two week lows, with technology stocks leading the declines and with investors pondering the historic collapse in oil prices - Dow fell -632-points or -2.67% International Business Machines (IBM) Corp fell -3% reported after reporting the closing bell of the previous session that revenue returned to a decline in the first quarter amid the spread of COVID-19, The broader S&P500 shed -3.07%, with Information Technology (down -4.10%) leading all eleven primary sectors lower. The Energy sector declined -1.68%. President Trump tweeted that he instructed the Energy and Treasury departments to “formulate a plan which will make funds available so that these very important companies and jobs will be secured long into the future.” Salesforce.Com Inc (down -7.5%) and Oracle Corp (down -4.82%) both fell more than 4% after IBM said its software and global business segments suffered from strong headwinds in the last two weeks of March due to the virus. United Airlines Holdings Inc fell -1.76% in after hours trading after announcing plans to raise more than >US$1B via the issue of 39.205M shares in a price range of US$25.95-to-US$26.50 per share (versus the closing price of US$). The NASDAQ -3.48%. Wall Street analysts cut their price targets for Alphabet Inc (down -4%) and Facebook Inc (-4.2%) and warned about further weakness in online advertising sales.

US equity markets retreated and settled near their session lowsas a crash in crude prices overshadowed building optimism around plans for a staggered easing of global lockdowns in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic- Dow fell -592-points or -2.44%. Boeing Co (down -6.75%) led the index lower, with energy heavyweights Chevron Corp (down -4.13%) and Exxon Mobil (-4.72%) both dropping more than >4%. The broader S&P500 shed -1.79%, with Utilities (down -3.89%), Real Estate (-3.74%) and Energy (-3.29%) leading all eleven primary sectors lower. Short bets against the popular SPDR S&P 500 Trust rose to more than >US$68B last week, marking the highest level since 2016, according to the Wall Street Journal, citing data from analytics firm S3 Partners. The NASDAQ lost -1.03% after briefly trading in positive territory earlier in the session. Luxury retailer Neiman Marcus Group Inc. is preparing to file for bankruptcy protection as soon as Wednesday (22 April), with plans to restructure its debt in hopes of reopening most of the chain’s stores after the coronavirus pandemic, according to a Wall Street Journal report citing people familiar with the matter.

US equity markets extended their rally to cap a solid shortened trading week - Dow up +705-points or +2.99% Boeing Co jumped +14.7% after the airplane maker said it would resume production in the Seattle area as early as 20 April. The aerospace and defense company also announced after the close of last Friday’s session (17 April) that said it will resume all commercial-airplane production at its Puget Sound, Washington state-area facilities in "a phased approach this week. The broader S&P500 gained +2.68% (to 2,874.56 and settled above its 50-day moving average). Ford Motor Co gained +3.64% after raising US$8B from corporate debt investors to shore up its balance sheet. The move came after the automotive company lost its investment grade status last month and will see Ford pay investors interest of between 8.50% and 9.625% on the new debt securities (having sold similarly-dated securities with a yield of under 50% of its coronavirus declines. The Nasdaq gained +6.09%.

Technology stocks lifted US equity markets after another choppy session that included another grim weekly jobless claims report - Dow added +33-points or +0.14%, recovering from a slide of over >200-points earlier in the session. Boeing Co gained +% in the extended session (having ended the regular session down -8%) after the aerospace and defense company said it will resume next week all commercial-airplane production at its Puget Sound, Washington state-area facilities in "a phased approach", a move that will see ~27K employees return to work. The broader S&P500 gained +0.58% . Gilead Sciences Inc surged +16.4% in the extended session following a report on health care media site Stat that one of the company's drugs (Remdesivir) showed promising results in treating COVID-19 patients. This report is being cited as a key reason for an ~700-point jump in Dow futures after the markets’ close. The NASDAQ rallied +1.63%. Netflix Inc (up +2.91%) and Amazon.com Inc (+4.36) each rose more than >2.5% to record levels. Netflix was buoyed by a marked upgrade by analysts at Goldman Sachs. The latest gains left Netflix up +36% year to date and Amazon up +30.3%.

A combination of very weak economic data and disappointing quarterly earnings releases dragged US equity markets lower - Dow down -445-points or -1.86% The broader S&P500 fell -2.20% Energy (down -4.67%), Materials (-4.51%) and Financials (-4.37%) led all eleven primary sectors into the red. Airline stocks were mixed even after the biggest carriers struck an agreement in principle with the federal government on financial assistance aimed at averting layoffs in the hard-hit industry. Delta Air Lines Inc fell -0.8%, while United Airlines Holdings Inc rose +3.1% and American Airlines Group advanced +2.9%. It marked the worst single session performance for both the Dow and S&P500 since 1 April.The NASDAQ dropped -1.44%. President Trump said earlier this morning AEST that he is planning a Thursday (16 April) announcement on guidelines for re=opening parts of the country amid the coronavirus pandemic. He said data suggests the U.S. has passed its peak of new cases and such "encouraging developments" allow for finalizing guidelines for states on reopening.

Growing expectations that the worst of COVID-19 pandemic may have passed saw US equity markets book another round of strong gains, with investors also eyeing the start of the first quarter corporate earnings season- Dow up +559-points or +2.39% (to 23,949.76). Boeing Co closed down -4.3% after the company said it delivered fewer commercial airplanes in the first quarter than expected.The broader S&P500 gained +3.06% (to 2,846.06). The latest 3% moves marks the 23rd move of at least 3% in either direction for the index, matching such moves in all of 2009, according to Dow Jones Market Data. The S&P 500 also booked its 38th session gain of at least 1% this year, surpassing last year’s total. The S&P500 now sits 27.2% above its 23 March low. The index has also capped its best 15-day performance since May 1933. Both the Dow and S&P 500 settled at their highest levels since 10 March. The biggest U.S. airlines reached an agreement in principle with the federal government on financial assistance aimed at preventing layoffs in an industry hit hard by the coronavirus pandemic, according to a Wall Street Journal report. The US$2.2 trillion economic relief package passed last month included US$25B in direct aid to allow passenger airlines to continue paying salaries and benefits to employees in the coming months. Treasury officials are expected to announce an agreement on the terms of the federal aid later this morning AEST. American Airlines Group Inc rose +11.26% in the extended session and Delta Air Lines Inc +9.58%. The NASDAQ rallied +3.95% to settle more than 20% above its most recent low and hence exit the bear market the technology-centric index entered on 12 March. The Nasdaq is less than 14% from its 52- week high on 19 February. Amazon.com Inc jumped +5.28% to settle at a record high of US$2,283.32 (and boosting the company’s market capitalisation to US$1.137 trillion). Tesla Inc jumped +9.05%, adding to a nearly 60% gain in the past seven days as Credit Suisse analysts upgraded the stock to hold from sell and upped their price target to US$580 from US$415.

The Dow and S&P500 retreated in subdued trading as investors’ attention turns to the first quarter corporate earnings season that kicks off this week - Dow down -329-points or -1.39%. Caterpillar Inc fell -8.71% and was the worst performing Dow constituent after a Bank of America analyst cut his rating on the stock to underperform from neutral.The broader S&P500 fell -1.01%, with Real Estate (down -4.59%) and Financials (-3.58%) leading eight of the eleven primary sectors lower. Consumer Discretionary (up +1.10%) was the best performing primary sector. Ford Motor Co fell -3.91% after the auto maker warned of lower sales in the first quarter due to the pandemic. A late rally saw the NASDAQ settle with a +0.47% gain. Netflix Inc jumped +7.01%, recouping all of its COVID-19 induced losses and topping its previous record closing high of US$387.78 set on 18 February. Fellow television streaming company Roku Inc jumped over >10% in extended trading after announcing it added nearly 3M new users in the first three months of the year, more than the 2.56M net additions that analysts expected. The company said that collective streaming hours for the period was 13.2B, up 49% from last year. Amazon.com Inc rallied +6.17% after the e-commerce and cloud giant said it was hiring 75,000 more employees, in addition to the 100,000 it already hired, to help meet increased demand. Apple Inc (up +1.96%) and Google unveiled a rare partnership to add technology to their smartphone platforms that will alert users if they have come into contract with a person with COVID-19. People must opt in to the system known as contact tracing.

US equity markets rallied, lifting the S&P500 into fresh technical bull market territory - Dow up +780-points or +3.44%. Caterpillar Inc rose +4.5% after the company said that it has decided to maintain its quarterly dividend of US$1.03 per share, with the next dividend payable 20 May to shareholders recorded on the register on 20 April. Walt Disney Co said paid subscriptions to its Disney+ streaming service, which launched in November last year, soared past 50M. Disney+ was rolled out in eight Western European countries including the UK, Ireland, France, Germany, Italy, Spain, Austria, and Switzerland in the past two weeks. The broader S&P500 gained +3.41% to 2,749.98, with the latest rally lifting the index more than >20% above its 23 March closing low (2,237.40). Real Estate (up+7.41%), Energy (+6.73%) and Utilities (+5.41%) led all eleven primary sectors higher. General Motors Co rose +8.6% after confirming it had secured an US$489.4M contract to produce 30,000 ventilators for the Strategic National Stockpile by the end of August. Starbucks Corp fell -2.07% in extended trading (having gained +4.16% in the regular session) said that second-quarter earnings will be cut roughly in half from a year ago due to the spread of COVID-19 in China and the US. Starbucks revealed that it expects adjusted earnings of US$0.28c to US$0.32c per share for the second quarter, down from US$60c per share in the second quarter of 2019. The company also rescinded its annual guidance. Costco Wholesale Corp fell -2.28% in extended trading after reporting that its March net sales rose nearly 12% (to US$15.49B from US$13.87B in March 2019), including a 48% jump in online sales. Combined, store sales in the U.S., Canada and other countries where Costco has a presence were up +9.6%. FedEx Corp (up +8.27%) and United Parcel Service Inc (+6.33%)rose after The Wall Street Journal reported that Amazon.com Inc (+1.56%) was halting its competing Amazon Shipping delivery service. The NASDAQ gained +2.58%. Bernie Sanders dropped out of the presidential race overnight, pushing Joe Biden a step closer to the Democratic nomination. A reminder that US equity and bond markets are closed on Friday night AEST (10 April) for Good Friday.

US equity markets relinquished solid opening gains to settle with modest losses - Dow slipped -26-points or -0.12%, having rallied as much as +937-points or +4.1% earlier in the session. Exxon Mobil Corp (up +1.9%) announced that it was reducing its 2020 capital expenditure by 20% and lowering its cash operating expenses by 30% to combat the effects of lower oil prices. The broader S&P500 dipped -0.16%, unwinding an earlier gain of as much as +3.5%. AT&T Inc (up +2.17%) announced a US$5.5B term-loan agreement to further insulate it from an economic slowdown and that it expects to keep paying its dividend. The NASDAQ settled -0.33% lower after gaining as much as +2.9% at its session peak. The intra-day reversal marked the largest gains handed back in a single session by both the Dow and S&P500 since October 2008, according to Dow Jones Market Data.

US equity markets ripped higher, with the benchmark indices all rallying more than >7% and closing near their session highs amid signs that the coronavirus pandemic is peaking in multiple regions - Dow soared +1,627-points or +7.73%, with Boeing Co (up +19.8%) the leading index performer. Raytheon Technologies Corp (up +15.28%), American Express Co (+13.95%) and Visa Inc (+11.58%) rose more than 11% each JP Morgan Chase & Co rose +6.44% after Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Jamie Dimon said in his annual letter to shareholders that the bank had sufficient capital to get through even the most adverse scenario, but conceded the bank’s 2020 earnings would be “meaningfully” lower. The broader S&P500 jumped +7.03%, with Information Technology (up +8.78%) leading all eleven primary sectors higher. Seven of the eleven primary S&P500 sectors posted gains of over >7%. . Carnival Corp surged +20.26% after the Saudi Arabia-based sovereign-wealth fund The Public Investment Fund disclosed it had acquired an 8.2% stake in the cruise operator, making it the third biggest shareholder in the company. Kraft Heinz Co rose +2.28% in the extended session after the food company said it expects a +3% rise in first-quarter sales (and an ~6% rise in organic sales) and postponed its upcoming investor day due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The S&P 500 has bounced more than >21% from an intraday low (2,191.86) set on 23 March. The NASDAQ +7.26%. The overnight gains marked the biggest one-day percentage gain for all three stock indexes since 24 March, according to Dow Jones Market Data.