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US equity markets rebounded from their biggest weekly losses of the year last week, with investors eyeing key inflation figures in the coming days - Dow rallied +484-points or +1.20%, more than recouping last Friday’s (6 September) -410-point or -1.01% fall.  Boeing Co gained +3.36% after the aircraft manufacturer and its biggest union (the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers) reached a tentative deal covering more than 32,000 workers, averting a possible strike. Apple Inc inched +0.04% higher following its product launch event called “It’s Glowtime” that saw the unveiling of the iPhone 16, Apple Watch Series 10 and AirPods 4. Chief executive Tim Cook said the iPhone 16 - which will go on sale on 20 September with pre-orders starting this Friday (13 September) - was the first of its smartphones to be “designed from the ground up” for artificial intelligence “and its breakthrough capabilities”. Goldman Sachs Group Inc fell ~1% in extended trading (after rising +1.87% in the regular session) after chief executive David Solomon warned investors that the investment bank’s trading business was on track to see revenues fall about 10% in the third quarter. “With respect to trading . . . we had an extremely strong third quarter in 2023,” Mr Solomon said at an industry conference organised by Barclays. “This quarter, given what I’d say is a more challenging macro environment, particularly in the month of August, that business is trending down close to 10 per cent, largely due to FICC [fixed income, currencies and commodities trading],” Mr Solomon said. Mr Solomon also flagged that Goldman’s earnings in the third quarter would also take a US$400M hit from its continued pullback from consumer trading.

US equity markets retreated sharply on Friday (6 September) as the latest employment report underscored labour market weakness and spurred further debate about how aggressive the Federal Reserve will be when it starts cutting interest rates - Dow lost -410-points or -1.01%, with Amazon.com Inc (down -3.65%) and American Express Co (-3.09%) both falling over >3%. Intel Corp fell -2.63%, with Reuters reporting that Qualcomm Inc (-3.37%) is looking at buying segments of the company, potentially including its PC chip design business. Separately, Bloomberg reported that Intel is considering selling off some of its stake in MobilEye Global (-8.48%), which provides hardware and software for self-driving vehicles, as part of the chipmaker's effort to improve its financial position. Apple Inc (down -0.7%) hosts its product launch event called “It’s Glowtime” tonight AEST and is expected to announce its new iPhone 16 lineup alongside new Apple Watch models, and potentially other products. Boeing Co (-2.79%) and its largest union said Sunday (8 September) they reached agreement on a new contract that, if ratified, will avoid a strike that threatened to shut down aircraft production by the end of the coming week.

US equity markets ended mostly to the downside overnight as the S&P 500’s September struggles continued following weak labour market data - Dow was the outlier rising -38-points or +0.09%. Intel Corp (down -3.33%) was amongst the worst performers in the 30-stock index, amid a broader selloff of chip stocks as well as Reuters reporting that recent tests of the chip giant's most advanced manufacturing process conducted by Broadcom (AVGO) failed.

US equity markets resumed trading after the Labor Day long weekend and settled sharply lower to kick-off what is a historically tough month for equities, with investors assessing some weak manufacturing data while eyeing Friday’s (6 September) key non-farm payrolls figure  - Dow shed -626-points or -1.51%. Intel Corp (down -8.8%) was the worst performer in the 30-stock index. The chipmaker is the worst performing Dow component calendar year-to-date (down -60%) and is in danger of losing its status as a member of the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA). Intel is the lowest-weighted component of the index, making up just 0.3% of the DJIA as of last week. Boeing Co lost -7.32%, with Wells Fargo downgrading the planemaker to "underweight" from "equal weight" and cutting its target price to US$119 from US$185. The analyst pointed to Boeing's "extensive delays and added cost" impacting aircraft production cash flow .

US equity markets advanced on Friday (30 August) to cap one of the most volatile months of trading in years - Dow rose +228-points or +0.55% to 41,563.08 to log its fourth record closing high of the week. Intel Corp rallied +9.49% following a Bloomberg report that the chipmaker is considering the spin-off or sale of its foundry business. Goldman Sachs Group Inc rose +0.62%, with the Wall Street Journal reporting that the investment bank is cutting as many as 1,800 of its employees as part of a planned 3% to 4% staff reduction following the bank’s annual performance-review process.

US equity markets mixed, with both the S&P 500 and Nasdaq losing ground late in the session and selling in Nvidia Corp intensified - Dow gained +244-points or +0.59% to 41,335.05, logging its third record closing high in the past four sessions. Apple Inc rose +1.46% with after Citigroup nominating the iPhone maker its top artificial intelligence (AI) pick. Meanwhile, Nikkei reported that Apple is telling suppliers to prepare components and parts for some 88M to 90M smartphones, according to multiple sources familiar with the plan. That is more than last year's initial component orders for around 80M new iPhones. Apple is preparing for sales of its first iPhone with Apple Intelligence, which includes generative AI features. The company has announced it will host its flagship product launch event on 9 September.  Salesforce Inc fell -0.73%, giving back earlier gains after the enterprise software company reported results after the close of the previous session that exceeded expectations on both the top and bottom lines.

US equity markets retreated ahead of the much anticipated release of chip giant Nvidia Corp’s second quarter result after the close, and with a batch of US retailers cutting outlooks amid a challenging consumer environment - Dow fell -159-points or -0.39%, paring an earlier decline of more than >400-points. Nike Inc (down -2.93%) was the worst performer in the 30-stock index.

US equity markets settled little changed as investors eye Nvidia Corp’s (up +1.46%) second quarter result tonight AEST - Dow inched+10-points or +0.02% higher to a fresh record closing high of 41,250.50.


The broader S&P500 added +0.16%, with Information Technology (up +0.63%) leading six of the eleven primary sectors higher.  Eli Lilly & Co rose +0.42% after the pharmaceuticals giant announced it would launch single-dose vials of Zepbound, one of the company's popular weight-loss drugs.  Warren Buffett’s investment vehicle Berkshire Hathaway is on the cusp of becoming just the ninth company in the world to achieve a US$1 trillion valuation. The conglomerate’s total market capitalisation stood at nearly US$993B as of last night’s close, with Berkshire Class A shares up +1.34% (at US$691,350) and Class B stock +1.35% (at US$460.63). Berkshire Hathaway has seen its total market cap increase by ~US$218B since the start of 2024, according to Dow Jones data. ResMed Inc rallied +7.26% on large volume (~1.9M shares versus a daily average of 1.08M), buoyed by a bullish research note from US independent investment bank and financial services company William Blair & Company that cited a “tidal wave” of new sleep apnoea and continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) patients coming from weight loss drugs beginning in 2025.  Paramount Global dropped -7.15% following news that Edgar Bronfman Jr. has withdrawn from bidding for Shari Redstone's media empire, setting the stage for the entertainment giant to be sold to David Ellison's Skydance Media.

US equity markets eased in a quiet session following last Friday’s (23 August) strong gains, with investors eyeing chip giant Nvidia Corp’s (down -2.25%) second quarter result on Wednesday night AEST (28 August) and inflation figures at the back end of the week - Dow added +65-points or +0.16% to 41,240.52, notching its 23rd record close of 2024. Apple Inc (up +0.15%) is likely to unveil its newest phones and the next generations of the Apple Watch and AirPods at an event on 9 September reportedly called “It’s Glowtime”. The iPhone maker is expected to officially announce the long-anticipated iPhone 16, supercharged with artificial intelligence (AI) capabilities. Intel Corp fell -2% following a report from CNBC that said the chip maker has hired advisors, including some with Morgan Stanley (up +0.43%), to help defend the company against potential shareholder activism.

US equity markets rallied on Friday (23 August) after Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell said “the time has come” for monetary easing - Dow rose +462-points or +1.14% to 41,175.08, closing within 0.1% of a fresh record close.
The broader S&P500 gained +1.15% to 5,634.61, settling just 0.6% below its all-time closing high recorded in mid-July. Construction materials supplier Builders FirstSource Inc rallied +8.75% to be the leading performer in the S&P 500