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US equity markets retreated as central bankers will gather in Jackson Hole, Wyoming for the Federal Reserve’s annual Monetary Policy Symposium, with the S&P 500 and Nasdaq logging their worst daily decline since 5 August - Dow fell -178-points or -0.43%. Intel Corp slumped -6.12% to be worst performer in the 30-stock index overnight following reports that the semiconductor giant's progress on constructing two new chip fabrication facilities in Germany may be stalled. Intel expected the Magdeburg plants to be online and producing high-performance semiconductors as soon as 2027. However, according to media reports this week, the schedule now appears uncertain. Amazon.com Inc (-2.21%) and Microsoft Corp (-2.03%) both fell over >2%.

US equity markets logged modest gains as investors digested earnings reports from various retailers, the minutes from the Federal Reserve’s late July monetary policy meeting and a sharp downward revision to annual payrolls data - Dow edged +56-points or +0.14% higher, with Intel Corp (up +2.0%) the leading performer in the 30-stock index. American Express Co fell -2.68% to US$246.30 after Bank of America Securities downgraded the payments giant to ‘Neutral’ from ‘Buy’ with a US$263 price target, with the analysts pointing to the stock’s current premium valuation and the potential for subdued growth in billings volume.

US equity markets logged modest declines, with the S&P 500 and Nasdaq snapping eight session winning streaks - Dow slipped -62-points or -0.15%, snapping a five session winning streak. Boeing Co shed -4.2% after the aerospace company said it would be grounding its four-plane test fleet of the 777x after finding cracks in the jet’s structure. Intel Corp lost -2.46%, unwinding much of the previous session’s +3.11% gain.

US equity markets advanced on Friday (16 August) to cap their best week of 2024 to date, with the S&P 500 and Nasdaq - Dow added +97-points or +0.24%, rising for a sixth time in seven sessions.
The broader S&P500 rose +0.20%, with Financials (up +0.62%) leading eight of the eleven primary sectors higher. Ulta Beauty Inc rose +3.12% and extended gains after regulatory filing late last week revealed Warren Buffett's investment vehicle Berkshire Hathaway Inc had acquired an ~US$266M stake in the cosmetics retailer. Amcor Plc lost -3.69% to be the worst performer in the S&P 500 after the packaging giant missed revenue estimates and provided weak guidance after the close of the previous session as volumes for healthcare and North American beverage companies remained soft.
The Nasdaq edged +0.21% higher.

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.