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US equity markets mostly firmer to open the week, with technology stocks underpinning the gains - Dow fell -197-points or -0.49%. JPMorgan Chase & Co dropped -4.50% after Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Jamie Dimon hinted during the bank’s annual investment meeting that he was preparing to retire after nearly 20 years at the helm of America's largest bank. Mr Dimon also said the bank would not repurchase shares at their current levels. Microsoft Corp gained 1.22% after the technology giant unveiled a new line of personal computers equipped with artificial-intelligence (AI) chips and the company’s CoPilot AI software.

US equity markets ticked higher as investors digested results from retailers and eyed the released of semi-conductor giant Nvidia Corp’s (up +0.64%) first quarter result after the closing bell tonight AEST - Dow edged +66-points or +0.17% higher. International Business Machines (IBM) Corp rose +2.09%after it said it was expanding several artificial intelligence (AI) partnerships with companies including Meta Platforms Inc (down -0.90%) and Salesforce Inc (-1.15%). Microsoft Corp added +0.87% to US$429.04 to close just cents shy of a record high after it unveiled new tools to develop AI software during the first day of its Microsoft Build developer conference.

US equity markets settled with modest gains on Friday (17 May), with the Dow closing above the 40,000 mark for the first time - Dow rallied +134-points or +0.34% to 40,003.59 a day after briefly topping the 40,000 mark for the first time in its 128-year history. It has taken 874 trading days for the 30-stock index to climb from 30,000 (which it steeled above on 24 November, 2020) to 40,000.

US equity markets settled with modest declines a day after all three (3) benchmark indices logged record closing highs - Dow slipped -39-points or -0.10% to 39,869.38, briefly topping >40,000 for the time earlier in the session.

American Express Co (-0.16%) and Amazon.com Inc (-1.27%) are the two top performing Dow stocks so far this year, up +28.81% and +20.86% respectively year-to-date. However, given the Dow is a price-weighted average it’s Caterpillar Inc (down -2.59%) and Goldman Sach Group Inc (-0.34%) that have been the biggest points contributors to the 30-stock index this year to date.

All three (3) benchmark US equity indices rallied to record highs, with investor sentiment buoyed by the first cooler-than-expected consumer inflation print in four months accompanied by softer retail sales in April - Dow climbed +350-points or +0.88% to 39,908.00, settling with its 18th record close of 2024. Salesforce Inc (up +3.88%) was the leading performer in the 30-stock index, while Amgen Inc (+2.45%), Home Depot Inc (+2.4%) and Merck & Co Inc (+2.39%) climbed ~2.5%. On the downside, Walt Disney Co fell 2.45% after Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Bob Iger said the company had invested too much in its streaming service and was taking steps to address enduring profitability challenges. Boeing Co fell 2.09% after the Department of Justice said the jet maker had violated a 2021 settlement stemming from two fatal 737 crashes.

US equity markets advanced, shrugging off stronger-than-expected wholesale inflation data and with investors’ focus now turning to the latest consumer price inflation figures tonight AEST - Dow rose +127-points or +0.32%. Boeing Co rose +1.30% despite delivering fewer jets in April amid quality problems that forced a slowdown in production. The company reported that it shipped 24 jets in April (including 16 737 MAX jets), down from a total of 29 jets in March (including 24 MAX jets). In April 2023, Boeing delivered 26 jets, including 17 MAX jets. Thus far in 2024, Boeing has delivered 107 jets, including 82 MAX jets. That compares with 156 jets in the first four months of 2023, including 128 MAX jets. Intel Corp (up +1.77%), American Express Co (+1.21%) and JP Morgan Chase & Co (+1.4%) also all rose over >1%.

US equity markets mixed following a session absent any major news or data, and with investors eyeing the latest round of inflation figures - Dow eased -81-points or -0.21%, snapping an eight session winning streak. Intel Corp rose +2.21% after The Wall Street Journal reported that the company is in talks with Apollo Global Management about providing US$11B in funds to help the chipmaker build a plant in Ireland.

US equity markets advanced as the latest weekly jobless claims figures fuelled fresh optimism around Federal Reserve interest rate cuts - Dow rallied +331-points or +0.85% to 39,387.76 to book its seventh consecutive session advance and highest close since 1 April. The 30-stock index also settled within 1.1% of its 28 March record closing high (39,807.37). Home Depot Inc (up +2.54%) and Caterpillar Inc (+2.11%) climbed over >2% to be the leading index components overnight.