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US equity markets finished mostly higher on Thursday, with both the Nasdaq and S&P 500 bringing a three-day losing streak to an end as investors digested fresh commentary from Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell and a raft of interest-rate hikes from global central banks - Dow fell -4-points or -0.01% with Boeing Company leading the losses down -3.05% after Spirit AeroSystems (-9.43%) said that its unionized workers have voted for a strike, which is causing Spirit to suspend factory operations. Boeing Company has now fallen -6.5% for the week.

US equity markets closed lower on Wednesday, for a third session in a row, retreating after recently touching their highest levels in more than a year - Dow fell -102-points or -0.30% to 33,951 with Intel suffering a further 6% fall after the company gave investors an update on the company’s turnaround plan to become a chip manufacturing company competing with Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company.

US equity markets closed lower on Tuesday, after the S&P 500 on Friday booked a fifth straight week of gains with some stocks touching their highest level in more than a year - Dow fell -245-points or -0.72%. Intel, Nike and Boeing, each down by more than 3%. The broader S&P500 shed 18 points or +0.47%, as investors await testimony from Federal Reserve chair Jerome Powell to Congress this week. Energy (-2.29%) and Materials (-1.26%) were the biggest laggards that saw ten of the eleven primary sectors close lower overnight. Consumer discretionary rose. PayPal Holdings (PYPL) shares gained 3.7% after the digital payment platform announced a deal in which KKR - managed funds and accounts will purchase up to €40 billion of buy now, pay later loan receivables originated in Europe. The technology-centric Nasdaq fell +0.18%. Intel (INTC) declined -3.8%. The Israeli government said the chip maker was investing $25 billion to manufacture semiconductors in the country, just days after Intel announced a new facility in Poland. Electric vehicle maker Rivian Automotive (RIVN) climbed 5.5% after the company announced it would adopt Tesla’s (TSLA) charging plug and technology. Tesla shares also finished 5.3% higher after the announcement. US depositary Alibaba (BABA) fell 4.5% after the Chinese e-commerce giant said Daniel Zhang will be stepping down as chairman and chief executive. He will remain as leader of the company’s cloud intelligence group, which the company announced last month would be spun off. The small capitalisation Russell 2000 lost -0.34%.

European bourses started the week in the red amid caution following the previous weeks big gains and regarding China’s growth prospects. The pan-European Stoxx 600 index (which includes UK equities) fell -1.02% to 462.04 with basic resources leading the losses (-2.2%), while Germany’s DAX fell by 0.96% at 16,201.20. France's CAC meanwhile slipped +1.01%.

US equity markets retreated ahead of the holiday long weekend, taking a breather following a six-session winning streak that had lifted the S&P500 and Nasdaq to 14-month highs - Dow fell -109-points or -0.32%, The broader S&P500 -0.37%, with Communication Services (down -1.00%) and Information Technology (-0.83%) leading eight of the eleven primary sectors lower. Utilities outperformed on Friday (16 June) with a +0.53% gain. The Nasdaq -0.68%. Apple Inc (down -0.59%) and Microsoft Corp (-1.66%) retreated from record highs. The small capitalisation Russell 2000 lost -0.73%.

US equity markets rallied, with both the S&P500 and Nasdaq climbing to fresh 14-month highs as economic data showed signs of the labour market softening and consumer spending moderating, potentially lessening the need for further interest rate rises from the Federal Reserve - Dow gained +429-points or +1.26% to 34,408.06 and a fresh 2023 high. The broader S&P500 +1.22% to 4,425.84, recording a sixth consecutive session of gains and lifting the index above the >4,400 level a week after the large capitalisation benchmark exited its the longest bear market since 1948. It also marked the longest stretch of straight gains since November 8, 2021, according to Dow Jones Market Data. Health Care (up +1.55%), Communication Services (+1.54%) and Industrials (+1.51%) all gained over >1.5% to lad all eleven primary sectors higher. The Nasdaq climbed +1.15% to 13,782.82, marking the highest settlement for the technology centric index since 7 April, 2022. Microsoft Corp gained +3.19% to US$348.10, extending gains into a sixth consecutive session and booking a record closing high as investors seemingly focused more on the tech giant’s artificial-intelligence (AI) roadmap instead of the stalled US$69B acquisition of videogame publisher Activision Blizzard Inc (+0.27%). The small capitalisation Russell 2000 rose +0.81%. The US-listed shares of Alibaba Group Holding Ltd gained +3.18% after announcing that it will expand one of its key China e-commerce sites, Tmall, into Europe. The announcement comes just over two months after Alibaba, China’s biggest e-commerce firm, announced plans to split its business into six units, a move designed to give each unit more autonomy and faster decision-making powers.

US equity markets mixed after a volatile trading session that saw both the S&P500 and Nasdaq log their highest intra-session peaks since April 2022 - Dow fell -233-points or -0.68%, UnitedHealth Group Inc shed -6.40% after executives addressed a Goldman Sachs investor conference and said that seniors had begun to catch up on pandemic-delayed surgeries for hips and knees, meaning rising costs for health insurers. The broader S&P500 inched +0.08% higher, logging its fifth consecutive advance and longest winning streak since November 2021. Information Technology (up +1.14%) led a narrow advance that saw four of the eleven primary sectors close higher overnight. Health Care and Energy both declined -1.12%. Tesla Inc eased -0.74%, snapping a record 13 session winning streak that had lifted the electric vehicle manufacturer’s share price. However, Delta Air Lines Inc (up +1.52%) extended its rally into a 14th straight session. The technology-centric Nasdaq added +0.39%. Nvidia Corp rallied +4.81% a day after the chipmaker officially became just the seventh public US company to close with a market capitalisation above >US$1 trillion. Oracle Corp gained +4.79% to US$122.24, logging a fresh record closing high for a fifth straight day and eighth time this month. The enterprise software company posted a better-than-expected fiscal fourth quarter result earlier this week. The small capitalisation Russell 2000 lost -1.17%.

US equity markets advanced to fresh 14-month highs after the pace of inflation eased to its lowest level in more than two years, bolstering investors’ view that the Federal Reserve will not raise interest rates when their latest two day monetary policy meeting concludes tomorrow morning AEST - Dow rose +146-points or +0.43%, Home Depot Inc (down -0.26%) hosted an Investor Conference overnight The broader S&P500 gained +0.69%, with Materials (up +2.33%) leading ten of the eleven primary sectors higher. Utilities (down -0.06%) was the only primary sector to settle in the red overnight. Tesla Inc extended its rally into a record thirteenth consecutive session, rallying +3.55% to US$258.71 and its highest close since 30 September. The electric vehicle manufacturer’s was also the most actively traded stock in both the S&P500 and Nasdaq 100 overnight. The Nasdaq rallied +0.83%. Nvidia Corp gained +3.90% to US$410.22, officially becoming just the seventh public US company to close with a market capitalisation above >US$1 trillion after previously flirting with that milestone on an intra-day basis. The chipmaker is up ~181% year-to-date. Only Apple Inc (down -0.26%), Amazon.com Inc (up +0.07%), Google parent Alphabet Inc (+0.15%), Tesla, Meta Platforms Inc (+0.10%) and Microsoft Corp (+0.74%) previously crossed the US$1 trillion threshold at the close of a trading day, according to Dow Jones Market Data. Tesla and Meta have since dropped out of the US$1 trillion club. Advanced Micro Devices shed -3.61% after officially unveiling several products at its Data Centre & AI Technology Premiere event in San Francisco overnight meant to take on Nvidia Corp and Intel Corp (up +2.54%) The small capitalisation Russell 2000 climbed +1.23%.

US equity markets built on the modest gains of last Friday’s (9 June) quiet session as investors turn their attention to this week’s May US inflation data and some key central bank monetary policy decisions (including from the Federal Reserve, European Central Bank and Bank of Japan) - Dow gained +189-points or +0.56%, extending gains into a fifth consecutive session. It marks the longest stretch of gains for the 30-stock index since the six-day trading period that ended 27 January. The broader S&P500 rose +0.93% to 4,338.93, the highest close since 21 April, 2022. Information Technology sat atop the primary sector leaderboard for a second consecutive session with a +2.07% gain, leading eight of the eleven primary sectors higher. Energy (down -0.97%) was the worst performing primary sector. Tesla Inc rallied +2.22% to US$244.40, extending gains into a record 12th consecutive session and recording its highest close since 30 September, 2022. The Nasdaq rallied +1.53% 13,461.92, the technology centric index’s highest close since 19 April, 2022. Apple Inc gained +1.56% to US$183.79, extending its rally into a third straight session and logging a fresh record closing high a week after the company’s Worldwide Developer Conference. Apple is up +41.45% year-to-date. Netflix Inc gained +0.94% after data analytics company Antenna late last week reported that the streaming company’s password-sharing crackdown already appears to be working in the US. Netflix saw a huge spike in subscribers (up +73K, or a +102% over the previous 60-day average) in the four days after it notified users about its paid sharing policies on 23 May, and also added +100K subscribers on both 26 May and 27 May. That’s more subscribers than Netflix raked in once the COVID-related lockdowns went into effect in March and April 2020, according to Antenna. The small capitalisation Russell 2000 added +0.40%.