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US equity markets advanced and treasuries rallied as the latest headline inflation data printed slightly weaker-than-expected, with value stocks lagging growth names following a choppy session - Dow slipped -30-points or -0.09%, with American Express Co (down -3.06%) and Nike Inc (-1.27%) notable drags. The broader S&P500 +0.45%, with Communication Services (up +1.69%) and Information Technology (up +1.22%) leading seven of the eleven primary sectors higher. Energy and Financials sat at the foot of the primary sector leaderboard, down -1.15% and -0.67% respectively. The technology-centric Nasdaq +1.04%, logging its highest settlement since June. Alphabet Inc rose +4.10% as Google kicked off its I/O developer conference and unveiled new gadgets and software, with a particular focus on artificial intelligence. The small capitalisation Russell 2000 rose +0.56%.

US equity markets logged modest losses following a muted session as investors eye tonight’s AEST inflation figures - Dow eased -57-points or -0.17%. Boeing Co rose +2.34%, with confirmation that the company had struck a deal with Ryanair Plc that will see the Irish low-cost carrier buy up to 300 Boeing aircraft. The deal comes after discussions collapsed more than 18 months ago over a disagreement on price. The aircraft will be delivered between 2027 and 2033. The broader S&P500 fell -0.46%, with Materials (down -0.93%) and Information Technology (-0.86%) leading eight of the eleven primary sectors lower. The Nasdaq lost -0.63%. The small capitalisation Russell 2000 lost -0.27%.

US equity markets settled narrowly mixed as an early rally in regional banking stocks faded, and with investors eyeing pivotal inflation figures later in the week - Dow eased -56-points or -0.17%, The broader S&P500 inched +0.05% higher, with Communication Services (up +1.27%) leading four of the eleven primary sectors higher thanks to solid gains from Google parent Alphabet Inc (+1.91%) and Walt Disney Co (+2.44%). The Nasdaq eked out a +0.18% gain to 12,256.91, its highest close since 12 September and enough to lift the technology centric index out of official bear market territory once again (up +20.01% from its 28 December closing low of 10,213.29). The last such exit from a bear market for the Nasdaq was 10 August last year and proved short-lived, with the index peaking just a few trading days later on 15 August before slumping back into a bear market - dropping 20% from that high - by 11 October. The small capitalisation Russell 2000 lost -0.31%. Amcor Plc fell over >2% in extended trading (after adding +0.38% in the regular session) after announcing it had signed a deal to buy Moda Systems, a maker of automated protein packaging machines. The packaging major did not disclose the size of the deal.

US equity markets rallied on Friday (5 May) to snap a four session losing streak, with regional bank shares rebounding from steep losses, and as investors digested the latest monthly jobs figures - Dow rallied +547-points or +1.65%, The broader S&P500 +1.85%, with Energy (up +2.75%), Information Technology (+2.71%), Financials (+2.44%) and Consumer Discretionary (+2.5%) gaining 2%+ to lead all elven primary sectors higher. The Nasdaq +2.25%. Apple Inc jumped +4.69% after posting better-than-expected first quarter numbers after the close of the previous session. Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) Inc gained +3.73% capping a two rebound of +9.84% that saw the chipmaker recoup a fall of over >9% last Wednesday (3 May) after better-than-expected first quarter headline numbers were overshadowed by an underwhelming outlook. The rebound came following a report that AMD was partnering with Microsoft Corp (+1.72%) to develop an in-house chip to handle artificial intelligence (AI) workloads. Microsoft has relied mostly on AMD’s larger rival Nvidia Corp (+4.06%) for its data-centre needs. The small capitalisation Russell 2000 rose +2.39%. Atlassian Corp fell -9.54% after the collaboration- and productivity-software company said late last Thursday (4 May) it expected business to get worse as companies keep cutting jobs. The company forecast revenue of US$900M to US$920M for the fiscal fourth quarter versus analysts’ consensus estimates for US$919.4M, stating in its letter to shareholders that cloud revenue faced “increasing macroeconomic impacts on paid seat [a paid user of Atlassian software] expansion from existing customers and new customer conversions, as well as headwinds in areas [where] we have yet to see significant impact.”

US equity markets retreated, with the benchmark indices extending losses into a fourth straight session - Dow dropped -287-points or -0.86%, dipping into the red for the year. The broader S&P500 fell -0.72%, with Financials (down -1.29%), Communication Services (-1.26%), Energy (-1.11%) and Industrials (-1.09%) all falling over >1% to lead nine of the eleven primary sectors lower. Real Estate (up +0.92%) and Utilities (+0.73%) were the only primary sectors to advance overnight. The Nasdaq lost -0.49%. Qualcomm Inc shed -5.54% after the chipmaker’s fiscal third quarter outlook released after the close of the previous session fell short of Wall Street estimates. Advanced Micro Devices Inc rallied +6.11% following a Bloomberg report that indicated the chip maker was working with Microsoft Corp (+0.33%) as it expands into processors for artificial intelligence. The small capitalisation Russell 2000 lost -1.18%.

US equity markets settled lower after a volatile session as investors digested the latest interest rate decision and monetary policy pronouncements from the Federal Reserve - Dow fell -270-points or -0.80%, The broader S&P500 lost -0.70%, with Energy (down -1.92%), Financials (-1.27%) and Materials (-1.11%) all fell over >1% to lead all eleven primary sectors lower. The Nasdaq eased -0.45%. Advanced Micro Devices Inc dropped -9.22% The small capitalisation Russell 2000 rose +0.41%.

US equity markets declined under the weight of fresh falls for regional banks and the energy sector - Dow down -367-points or -1.08%, The broader S&P500 lost -1.16%, with Energy (down -4.28%) and Financials (-2.30%) leading ten of the eleven primary sectors lower. Consumer Discretionary (+0.16%) was the only primary sector to settle in positive territory. The technology-centric Nasdaq fell -1.09%. The small capitalisation Russell 2000 dropped -2.10%.

US equity markets slipped in muted trading, giving up modest early gains as investors pondered the news that JPMorgan Chase & Co (up +2.14%) had agreed to buy the bulk of embattled of Californian lender First Republic Bank - Dow eased -46-points or -0.14%, unwinding an earlier rally of as much as +160-points. The broader S&P500 dipped -0.04%, with Energy (down -1.26%) and Consumer Discretionary (-1.06%) leading seven of the eleven primary sectors lower. Healthcare (up +0.59%) and Industrials (+0.55%) were the leading primary sector performers overnight. The Nasdaq slipped -0.11% to 12,212.60, with Amazon.com Inc down -3.22% and extending its two day slide to over >7% since the release of the e-commerce and cloud-computing giant’s first quarter result. However, chipmaker Nvidia Corp gained +4.18%. The technology-centric index has been in a bear market for 138 trading days, and needed to close above >12,255.95 to exit bear-market territory, according to Dow Jones Market Data. The small capitalisation Russell 2000 eked out a +0.01% gain.

US equity markets advanced on Friday (28 April) despite another crushing session for First Republic Bank, with investors continuing to digest corporate earnings and the latest inflation reports - Dow rose +272-points or +0.80%, The broader S&P500 gained +0.83%, with Energy (up +1.47%), Financials (+1.19%), Real Estate (+1.15%), Materials (+1.13%) and Information Technology (+1.07%) rising over >1% to lead nine of the eleven primary sectors higher. Utilities (down -0.19%) and Consumer Discretionary (-0.04%) were the only primary sectors to settle in the red. Both the Dow and S&P500 logged their best single session advance since 6 January. The Nasdaq added +0.69% to settle at 12,226.58, logging its best single session gain since 16 March and marking the highest close for the technology-centric index since 12 September, 2022. Intel Corp rallied +4.02% as the once dominant chipmaker posted first quarter numbers after the closing bell of last Thursday’s (27 April) session that were a touch a head of consensus analyst forecasts. However, Amazon.com Inc fell -3.98% after the e-commerce and cloud-computing giant’s first quarter headline numbers released after the close of the previous session comfortably surpassed consensus estimates, but with analysts concerned about revenue growth in the Cloud unit. The small capitalisation Russell 2000 lost -0.49%.

Strong first quarter earnings from technology majors fuelled the best rally for US equity markets since January - Dow gained +524-points or +1.57%, The broader S&P500 rallied +1.96% to log its best single session gain since 6 January, with Communications Services (up +5.53%) the clear outperformer and underpinned by Meta Platforms Inc soaring +13.93% after Facebook’s parent company reported better-than-expected earnings per share (EPS) of US$2.20 for the first quarter after the close of the previous session and provided a revenue forecast that suggested reinvigorated sales growth. Consumer Discretionary (+2.77%), Real Estate (+2.43%) and Information Technology (+2.17%) all gained over >2% amid a broad-based rally that saw all eleven primary sectors advance. The Nasdaq jumped +2.43%, with Microsoft Corp up +3.20% and Alphabet Inc +3.75%. The small capitalisation Russell 2000 gained +1.20%.