US equity markets rallied following the release of a fresh batch of economic data that eased concerns about the health of the economy and some further robust corporate earnings releases - Dow gained +555-points or +1.39%, rising for the fifth time in six sessions. Cisco Systems Inc jumped +6.8% to be the leading performer in the 30-stock index after the software and networking company posted better-than-expected adjusted earnings per share (EPS) and revenue for its fiscal fourth quarter and outlined a restructuring plan that will see its worldwide workforce shrink by ~7% after the closing bell of the previous session. Intel Corp rose +3.87% despite the Financial Times (FT) reporting that talks with Japan’s Softbank Group Corp (+2.16%) to manufacture chips rivalling those made by Nvidia Corp (+4.05%) fell apart in recent months. SoftBank blamed Intel for the collapse of the talks due to its inability to meet demands for volume and speed, and has now held talks with Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (down -0.53%), according to the FT. Boeing Co rose +4.69% after El Al Israel Airlines confirmed a US$2.5B deal to buy up to 31 of the aerospace giant's 737 Max planes. Nike Inc gained +5.07% after Bill Ackman’s Pershing Square Capital Management disclosed a new stake in the company. A U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) filing recorded that the hedge fund investor bought just over 3M shares in the athletic apparel major.The broader S&P500 rallied +1.61% to 5,543.22 and now sits +0.34% higher for August after booking its worst start to a month in eight years. The index also settled ~2.1% below its record closing high of 5,667.2 recorded on 16 July. Consumer Discretionary climbed +3.38% to lead nine of the eleven primary sectors higher following stronger-than-expected retail sales figures for July and strong earnings from sector bellwether Walmart. Ulta Beauty Inc soared +11.17%, with a regulatory filing from Warren Buffett's investment vehicle Berkshire Hathaway Inc (up +0.61%) recording that the firm had acquired an ~US$266M stake in the cosmetics retailer. Lithium producer Albemarle Inc rebounded +8.63% after being the worst performer in the broader index on both Monday (August) and Wednesday (August) of this week. Paramount Global jumped +7.14% following multiple reports that media executive Edgar Bronfman Jr. is set to make a bid for the entertainment giant. Last month, Paramount agreed to the terms of a merger with production company Skydance Media after prolonged talks.

US equity markets advanced after the annual rate of headline consumer inflation fell below 3% for the first time since March 2021  - Dow gained +243-points or +0.61%, with American Express Co (up +2.0%) the leading performer in the 30-stock index.
The broader S&P500 added +0.38%, extending gains into a fifth straight session that has lifted the index +4.83%. Financials (up +1.29%) led eight of the eleven primary sectors higher.
The Nasdaq inched +0.03% higher, shaking of earlier session declines to log a fifth straight session advance that has lifted the technology-centric index +6.05% over that stretch. Google-parent company Alphabet Inc fell -2.31% following news after the close of the previous session that the U.S. Department of Justice was weighing an effort to break up the technology behemoth.

US equity markets rallied strongly following tamer-than-expected wholesale inflation data, with the S&P 500 and Nasdaq booking their biggest four-day percentage gains of 2024 - Dow gained +409-points or +1.04%. Intel Corp jumped +5.73% to be the leading performer in the 30-stock index. A filing showed the company had divested its stake (~1.8M shares) in chip designer Arm Holdings Plc (+5.69%). Nike Inc rallied +5.17% to US$78.50, with analysts at Bernstein Research reiterating their "buy" rating for the stock along with a US$112 price target.
The broader S&P500 rallied +1.68%, taking its 4-day gain to +4.45%. The broader index now sits ~4.1% below its record closing high set on 16 July. Information Technology (up +3.00%) and Consumer Discretionary (+2.42%) to lead ten of the elven primary sectors higher. Energy (down -1.02%) was the only sector to settle in the red. Starbucks Corp soared +24.50% after ousting Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Laxman Narasimhan and announcing the current CEO of Chipotle Mexican Grill Inc (down -7.50%) Brian Niccol as his replacement. Mr Niccol will start in the role on 9 September, with Starbucks Chief Financial Officer (CFO) Rachel Ruggeri set to take the interim CEO title for the next month. The announcement follows recent pressure from activist investor including Elliott Investment Management.

A mixed and muted session for US equity markets as investors eye inflation and retail sales figures later in the week - Dow fell -141-points or -0.36%, with Boeing Co (down -2.25%) and Procter & Gamble Co (-2.19%) both down over >2%.
The broader S&P500 settled flat . Real Estate (down -0.64%) and Communication Services (-0.62%) both fell over >0.6% to lead eight of the eleven primary sectors lower. Information Technology (up +0.92%) and Energy (+0.49%) sat atop the primary sector leaderboard overnight. KeyCorp jumped +9.1% to be the leading performer in the S&P 500 following news that Bank of Nova Scotia (down -3.42%) acquired a 14.9% stake in the bank for US$2.8B. Starbucks Corp rose +2.58% after The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) reported that hedge fund Starboard Value has taken a stake in the world's biggest coffee chain and was calling for changes. The WSJ noted that the move came as Starbucks is in settlement discussions with activist investor Elliott Investment Management, which it previously reported had taken a large stake in the company and also called for changes. Albemarle Corp shed -6.92% to be the worst-performing stock in the S&P 500 as the world's biggest lithium producer continues to feel the negative effects of slumping lithium prices (which have slumped more than >80% since the start of 2023).

US equity markets logged modest gains on Friday (9 August) and continued to mount a comeback that saw the S&P 500 and Nasdaq all but erase Monday’s (5 August) rout that saw both indices register their sharpest daily losses since 13 September 2022 - Dow edged +51-points or +0.13% higher, with American Express Co (up +1.85%), Apple Inc (+1.37%) and Salesforce Inc (+1.37%) all rising over >1%. Intel Corp shed -3.81% to be the worst performer in the Dow last Friday (9 August).

US equity markets rallied sharply amid a broad-based rally that saw the S&P 500 and Nasdaq record their strongest session since 30 November, 2022 after the latest weekly jobless claims figures soothed nerves in some quarters around the strength of the labour market - Dow gained +683-points or +1.76%, logging its strongest session since 16 July.

The broader S&P500 rallied +2.3%. Information Technology rallied +3.31% to lead all eleven primary sectors higher, six of which logged gains of more than >2%. Palantir Technologies jumped +11.25 after the company announced an agreement with Microsoft Corp (+1.07%) to provide the U.S. government with secure cloud, artificial intelligence (AI), and analytics capabilities for national security. The agreement provides the U.S. government agencies including the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) with large language models (LLMs) through Azure OpenAI Services, Microsoft's cloud offerings through its partnership with OpenAI, and Palantir's AI Platform (AIP). Warner Bros. Discovery Inc shed -8.95% after the entertainment giant posted a loss of nearly -US$10B for the second quarter after the close of the previous session.

US equity markets retreated, relinquishing earlier session gains and capping the worst 5-day start to a month for the Dow and S&P 500 since January 2016 - Dow fell -234-points or -0.60%,. Intel Corp fell -4.24% following a fresh broker downgrade (with analysts at Mizuho Securities cutting their recommendation to ‘Neutral’ from ‘Outperform’ and writing of “a tough road ahead to regain leadership”), extending the semiconductor company’s 5-day slide to -43.6%.

The broader S&P500 lost -0.77%, with Consumer Discretionary (-1.39%), Materials (-1.39%), Information Technology (-1.36%) and Health Care (-1.07%) all declining over >1% to lead seven of the eleven primary sectors lower. Super Micro Computer Inc tumbled -20.14% after the artificial intelligence (AI) server company – and a customer and close partner of Nvidia Corp (-5.12%) – reported its fiscal fourth-quarter result after the close of the previous session as the cost of transitioning to more expensive AI chips weighed on the bottom line.

US equity markets rebounded amid a broad-based recovery a day after the Dow and S&P 500 registered their sharpest daily losses since 13 September 2022 - Dow rose +294-points or +0.76%, clawing back some of the previous session’s -1,033.99-points or -2.6% tumble.
The broader S&P500 +1.04%, with Real Estate (up +2.3%) leading all eleven primary sectors higher.  Palantir Technologies Inc jumped +10.38% after reporting a better-than-expected second quarter result and lifted its full-year guidance on strong demand for its Artificial Intelligence Platform (AIP) after the close of the previous session. Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd rallied +7.51% after JPMorgan analysts labelled the company  “best in class” among the cruise lines and raised their full year earnings per share (EPS) forecast to US$11.50 from US$11.43.

US equity markets extended their steep declines to cap their worst three-day performance since 2022, with the Dow and S&P 500 registering their sharpest daily losses since 13 September 2022 - Dow tumbled -1,033.99-points or -2.6% to 38,703.27, with all 30 components settling in the red. Intel Corp (down -6.38%) was the worst Dow performer overnight. Apple Inc (down -4.82%) continued to slide after Warren Buffett’s investment vehicle Berkshire Hathaway Inc (down -3.34%) halved its stake in the technology giant and boosted its cash pile to a record high of US$277M, according its second-quarter financial results released on Saturday (3 August),
Markets have become increasingly concerned following last Friday’s (2 August)  non-farm payrolls report for July that the Federal Reserve may be moving too slow when it comes to interest rate cuts if it wants to avoid a recession. Indeed, some analysts are now calling for ‘emergency’ rate cuts from the Federal Reserve. Also a lot of talk around the unwinding of the Yen carry trade triggered by the Bank of Japan's (BoJ) unexpected rate hike on Wednesday last week (31 July),

US equity markets tumbled for a second straight session after a weak jobs report further stocked fears of a recession – Dow fell -611-points or -1.51%. Intel Corp tumbled -26.06% after the chipmaker announced a wider-than-expected quarterly loss after the close of last Thursday’s (1 August) session and said it would lay off 15% of its staff as part of a massive cost-cutting effort. Amazon.com Inc -8.78% after the e-commerce giant reported weaker-than-anticipated quarterly revenue and issued soft guidance for the current quarter after the close of the previous session.


The broader S&P500 dropped -1.84% to 5,346.56, with 74% of index components settling in the red. The index settled 5.66% below its 16 July closing high (5,667.20). It marks the 29th correction of great than >5% off of a high since the March 2009 low.