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The benchmark US equity indices climbed to settle at fresh 52-week highs overnight ahead of tonight’s AEST inflation figures and a host of global central bank monetary policy meetings later in the week - Dow rallied +157-points or +0.43% to 36,404.93, the 30-stock index’s highest close since 5 January, 2022. Chipmaker Intel Corp (up +4.31%) was the leading Dow component overnight. Nike Inc rallied +2.33% after Citi upgraded the athletic apparel brand to ‘Buy’ from Neutral and increased their price target to US$135 from US$110, citing optimism around Nike’s 2024 product lineup for the Paris Olympics and the company’s position in China, along with the positive impact of a decline in freight costs, lower promotions, and direct to consumer strength on gross margins. Citi’s upgrade comes 10 days before the company reports second-quarter financial results.

US equity markets closed out the first full trading week of December on a positive footing as investors assessed the latest jobs data - Dow rallied +130-points or +0.36% to 36,247.87, the 30-stock index’s highest close since 12 January, 2022. Boeing Co (up +3.11% to US$244.70) was the leading performer, hitting a fresh closing high for the year.

US equity markets advanced, with the both the Dow and S&P 500 snapping a three session losing streak ahead of tonight’s AEST latest non-farm payrolls report - Dow rose +63-points or +0.17% to 36,117.38, lifting the 30-stock index to within 2% of its record closing high of 36,799.65 set on 4 January, 2022.

US equity markets retreated, with the Dow and S&P 500 logging their first three-session losing streak since October - Dow slipped -70-points or -0.19%, unwinding an earlier rally of as much as +170-points. American Express Co (down -1.86%) and Intel Corp (-1.55%) both fell over >1.5% to be the worst index performers.

US equity markets settled with modest declines although mega-capitalisation technology stocks resumed their outperformance amid fresh falls for Treasury yields - Dow fell -80-points or -0.22%, logging back-to-back losses for the first time in nearly a month American Express Co fell -1.48% after Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Stephen Squeri addressed the Goldman Sachs financial services conference in New York and said October trends had softened. “If you just go back in the second quarter, we had about 8% overall billings growth. Third quarter, it came down to 7%. And in October, everybody got a little bit skittish, and I think other people have said the same thing that growth wasn’t as strong in October. And we didn’t see growth in October like it was in the third quarter.”

US equity markets retreated amid rising Treasury yields, although a ‘catch-up’ rally for small capitalisation stocks extended into a fourth day - Dow slipped -41-points or -0.11%, snapping a four session winning streak that had lifted the 30-stock index above >36,000 for the first time since 13 January, 2022.

US equity markets opened December on a positive footing on Friday (1 December), with investors shrugging off the latest tough talk on inflation by Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell - Dow rallied +295-points or +0.82% to 36,245.50, climbing above >36,000 for the first time since 13 January, 2022 and settling ~1.5% below its record close of 36,799.65 set on 4 January, 2022. Salesforce Inc (up +3.22%) extended its gains into a sixth straight session, and climbing over >12.5% since posting a strong fiscal third quarter result after the close of last Wednesday’s (29 November) session).

US equity markets rallied to cap a strong November performance as investors pondered the latest inflation figures - Dow rallied +520-points or +1.47% to 35,950.89, logging a fresh 2023 high and highest close since 13 January, 2022. Salesforce Inc jumped +9.36% following the company’s better-than-expected fiscal third quarter result after the close of the previous session. Walt Disney Co (up +0.21%) declared its first dividend since early 2020 as the company faces fresh activist pressure from investor Nelson Peltz, announcing a cash dividend of US$0.30c per share.

US equity markets settled with modest declines, running out of steam in the final half hour of trading as investors eye tonight’s AEST inflation data - Dow inched +13-points or +0.04% higher and is on course to record its best monthly gain since October 2022, up +7.19% so far in November.

US equity markets edged higher and remained on track to post solid monthly gains as bond yields retreated, with investors eyeing Thursday night’s AEST (31 November) inflation data - Dow added +84-points or +0.24%. Boeing Co gained +1.4%, buoyed by an upgrade to ‘Outperform’ from ‘Sector Perform’ by RBC Capital (who also lifted their target price on the airplane manufacturer to US$275 from US$200). “After another year of supply-chain disruptions and lowered expectations, we believe the set-up into 2024 is favourable,” the analysts said in a research note.