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US equity markets advanced ahead of tonight’s AEST key inflation figures, buoyed by fresh China stimulus measures and a strong gains for chipmakers - Dow gained +260-points or +0.62% to 42,175.11, logging its second highest close ever. Caterpillar Inc (up +3.36%) and Dow Inc (+3.56%) rose over >3%.

The S&P 500 and Dow logged record closing highs, building on last week's Federal Reserve rate cut-induced momentum and after data showed steady business activity in September - Dow added +61-points or +0.15% to 42,124.65, logging a record closing high for a third consecutive session. Intel Corp gained +3.30% to be the leading performer in the 30-stock index after Bloomberg reported on Sunday (22 September) that Apollo Global Management has offered to invest as much as US$5B in the struggling chipmaker. Intel got a boost last week from a company update on its transformation plans as well as a Wall Street Journal report Friday (20 September) that Qualcomm Inc (down -1.75%) had made a "takeover approach". Boeing Co (+1.96%) has made its “best and final” offer to striking workers, offering a 30% raise as it tries to end a work stoppage that threatens its recovery. The 33,000 members of the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers District 751 walked off the job 11 days ago after rejecting a contract negotiated by the union’s leadership.

US equity markets ended a strong week on a mixed note, with trading relatively subdued despite Friday’s (20 September) session being a “triple witching” event - the simultaneous expiration of stock options, stock index futures, and stock index options contracts that saw option contracts tied to more than >US$5 trillion in tradeable stocks expire - Dow edged +38-points or +0.09% higher to a fresh record closing high of 42,062.81. Nike Inc rallied +6.84% to be the leading Dow component on Friday (20 September) after announcing after the close of the previous session that chief executive John Donahoe will retire next month and will be succeeded by company veteran Elliott Hill, an abrupt leadership change punctuating a period of dour economic performance at the world’s largest sportswear maker. Initial sales data for Apple Inc’s (down -0.29%) iPhone 16 will be released tonight AEST after the new device went on sale for the first time last Friday (20 September). The technology giant's AI model, Apple Intelligence, won't be available immediately but will come later as a free software update.

US equity markets failed to hold initial gains that came after the Federal Reserve delivered -50 basis point interest rate cut and that had lifted both the S&P 500 and Dow to fresh record intra-day highs - Dow fell -103-points or -0.25%, having rallied ~376-points immediately following the Fed’s rate announcement and lifting the 30-stock index to a record intra-day peak just shy of 41,982. Intel Corp fell -3.26% to be the worst performing Dow component, having rallied over >10% in the preceding three sessions.

US equity markets mixed ahead of the latest interest rate decision and monetary policy pronouncements from the Federal Reserve tomorrow morning AEST  - Dow dipped -16-points or 0.04% to 41,606.18, snapping a four session winning streak after hitting a fresh record intra-day high (41,835.28) earlier in the session. Intel Corp rallied +2.68% to be the leading Dow component for a second session running after Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Pat Gelsinger provided an update on the company's restructuring efforts, citing progress on cost-cutting and unveiling plans to turn its chipmaking arm into a separate subsidiary. The company also said it would produce chips for Amazon.com Inc’s (+1.08%) Amazon Web Services and the U.S. military.  Microsoft Corp rose +0.88% after the company announced a US$60B stock buyback programme and boosted its dividend (to US$0.83c per share, up from US$0.73c previously) after the close of the previous session. Separately, BlackRock is preparing to launch a more than >US$30B artificial intelligence (AI) investment fund (via its infrastructure investment unit, Global Infrastructure Partners) with Microsoft to build data centres and energy projects to meet growing demands stemming from AI. 

US equity markets mostly firmer in cautious trade of key central bank meetings later this week - Dow rose +228-points or +0.55% to 41,622.08, logging its 27th record close of the year-to-date. Intel Corp rallied +6.36% to be the leading Dow component after confirming press reports late last Friday (13 September) that it has been granted up to US$3B in Chips Act funding to “expand the trusted manufacturing of leading-edge semiconductors for the U.S. government.” Specifically, this award covers defence work. This deal is separate from the ~US$20B in funding that Intel announced earlier this year that it was eligible for through the Chips Act. Apple Inc fell -2.78% amid concerns about early sales for the just-launched iPhone 16. Analysing delivery lead times and whether models of the iPhone 16 will be available in stores on Friday (20 September) as scheduled, several analysts said that early indications appear disappointing for Apple's latest smartphone. Separately, the tech giant also received FDA approval for the sleep apnoea detection feature in its newest smartwatch operating system. Meanwhile, Amazon.com Inc (-0.86%) told employees to return to in-person work five days a week next year, barring any ”extenuating circumstances” or exceptions.

US equity markets extended their recovery from an early September sell-off on Friday (13 September), with the S&P 500 and Nasdaq recording their best weekly gains of 2024 - Dow rallied +297-points or +0.72%.

Boeing Co shed 3.69% to be the worst performer in the 30-stock index after the aerospace company’s biggest union, the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers representing ~33K workers, went on strike after voting down a new, four-year labour deal. The strike will halt work on the company’s best-selling 737, 777, and 767 jets.

The S&P 500 and Nasdaq extended gains into a fourth straight session after the latest wholesale inflation figures helped reinforce expectations for an interest rate cut when the Federal Reserve convenes its latest monetary policy meeting next week (17-18 September) - Dow rose +235-points or +0.58%.

US equity markets recovered from earlier losses to advance and settle near their session highs as investors weighed the implications of the latest CPI data and the presidential debate  - Dow rose +125-points or +0.31%, with American Express Co (up +3.57%) and Intel Corp (+3.48%) both rallying over >3%.

US equity markets mixed ahead of the first presidential debate later this morning AEST and inflation figures tonight AEST - Dow eased -93-points or -0.23%. JPMorgan Chase & Co shed -5.19% to be the biggest decliner in the 30-stock index after president Daniel Pinto, speaking at a Barclays financial services conference in New York, tempered full-year net interest income (NII) expectations for the largest US bank by assets. The current forecast of US$91.5B in 2024 was, he said, “not very reasonable” in light of the Federal Reserve’s impending interest rate cuts. Goldman Sachs Group Inc fell -4.39% after chief executive David Solomon warned investors at the same conference a day earlier that the investment bank’s trading business was on track to see revenues fall about 10% in the third quarter due to a “more challenging macro environment, particularly in the month of August”. Boeing Co lost -1.74%, with Reuters reporting that the aircraft manufacturer had informed its suppliers that it now expects MAX production to reach 42 planes per month in March 2025, compared with its prior estimate of September 2024.  Apple Inc, which unveiled its new artificial intelligence (AI)-enabled iPhone on Monday (9 September), lost -0.36% after the Court of Justice of the European Union (EU) overturned a lower court ruling on Irish tax breaks for the tech giant.