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US equity markets modesty weaker as investors digested the minutes of the Federal Reserve’s most recent monetary policy meeting - Dow eased -85-points or -0.26%, The broader S&P500 slipped -0.16% to extend losses into a fourth straight session, with Real Estate (down -1.02%) and Energy (-0.77%) leading nine of the eleven primary sectors lower. Materials (up +0.68%) and Consumer Discretionary (+0.52%) were the only primary sectors to advance. The Nasdaq added +0.13%. Intel Corp fell -2.26% after the struggling chipmaker cut its dividend by more than >60% to US$0.125c per share. The small capitalisation Russell 2000 gained +0.34%.

US equity markets resumed trading following the Presidents Day holiday and booked their worst single session declines since 15 December last year as a fresh rise in Treasury yields continued to pressure market sentiment - Dow fell -697-points or -2.06%, The broader S&P500 -2.00% to 3,997.34, falling for a third consecutive session and erasing all of February’s gains. The index also cut its 2023 gain in half (to +4.11%), falling more than >4.7% from its 2 February intra-session peak (4,195.44). Consumer Discretionary (down -3.34), Information Technology (-2.40%), Industrials (-2.29%), Communication Services (-2.29%) and Financials (-2.01%) all declined over >2% to lead all elven primary sectors lower. The Nasdaq shed -2.50%. Microsoft Corp (down -2.09%) said it will bring its Xbox PC games to Nvidia Corp’s cloud gaming service, after the chipmaker had reportedly expressed opposition to a major Microsoft gaming deal. Nvidia lost -3.43% ahead of the release of its quarterly result tonight. The small capitalisation Russell 2000 dropped -2.99%.

US equity and bond markets were CLOSED overnight in observance of the Presidents Day holiday.

On the geopolitical front, tensions between the US and China were ratcheted up as US Secretary of State Antony Blinken warned top Chinese diplomat Wang Yi of consequences should Beijing provide material support to Russia's invasion of Ukraine after the men met on the sidelines of the Munich Security Conference.

London's FTSE 100 edged +0.12% higher, with the major miners enjoying a solid session. Anglo American Plc rose +3.99%, Glencore Plc +1.96% and Rio Tinto Plc +2.97%. Antofagasta Plc (up +1.70%), HSBC Group Holdings Plc (-0.06%), Intercontinental Hotel Group Plc (unchanged) and Smith & Nephew Plc (up +0.56%) release full year results tonight AEST (21 February), while Virgin Money UK hosts its Annual General Meeting (AGM). In UK economic data, flash readings of the S&P Global/CIPS Manufacturing Services PMIs for February are released tonight AEST.

US equity markets mostly weaker on Friday (17 February) as robust economic data and hawkish commentary from Federal Reserve officials continued to fan investor fears that the Federal Reserve will need to apply a brake to the US economy for longer than anticipated just last month - Dow rose +130-points or +0.39%, with biotechnology company Amgen Inc (up +2.69%) and diversified health care company UnitedHealth Group Inc (+2.41%) among the leading index performers. The broader S&P500 eased -0.28%, with Energy (down -3.65%) the major drag. The more defensive Consumer Staples (+up +1.29%) and Utilities (+1.00%) outperformed. Tesla Inc rose +3.10%, with Bloomberg reporting after the close that the electric vehicle manufacturer is considering buying Canadian miner Sigma Lithium Corp (down -2.64%). Tesla has been talking with advisers about a potential bid, and Sigma Lithium is one of “multiple mining options” being explored, the report said. The Nasdaq fell -0.58%. Meta Platforms Inc (up +0.26%) announced a new paid verification subscription service called Meta Verified over the weekend. For US$11.99 per month on the web and US$14.99 per month on iOS, users on Meta’s Instagram and Facebook platforms will be able to submit their government ID and get a blue verification badge. The service will be introduced in Australia and New Zealand this week, and more countries will follow, CEO Mark Zuckerberg said. The small capitalisation Russell 2000 added +0.21%.

US equity markets retreated amid fresh evidence of stubborn inflation, and following some hawkish commentary from Federal Reserve speakers - Dow fell -431-points or -1.3%, Microsoft Corp and Walt Disney Co contributed the most to the Dow’s decline, down -2.66% and -3.12% respectively. The broader S&P500 shed -1.4%, with Consumer Discretionary (down -2.16%), Information Technology (-1.75%) and Communication Services (-1.55%) all down over >1.5% to lead all eleven primary sectors lower. Bank of America Corp (down -0.79%) is planning to cut jobs in its investment bank, according to a Bloomberg News report, albeit the cuts could affect less than 200 banking globally according to people familiar with the matter. Tesla Inc fell -5.69% after the company issued a voluntary recall notice for 362,758 vehicles in the US equipped with the company’s experimental driver-assistance software, which is marketed as Full Self-Driving Beta or FSD Beta. The electric vehicle manufacturer will deliver an over-the-air software update to cars to address the issues. The FSD Beta system may cause crashes by allowing the affected vehicles to: “Act unsafe around intersections, such as traveling straight through an intersection while in a turn-only lane, entering a stop sign-controlled intersection without coming to a complete stop, or proceeding into an intersection during a steady yellow traffic signal without due caution,” according to a safety recall report on the website of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. The Nasdaq dropped -1.78%. Cisco Systems Inc rallied +5.24% after reported better-than-expected fourth quarter earnings per share (US0.88c versus consensus estimates for US$0.86c) and revenue (US$13.59B versus consensus US$13.43B) after the close a day earlier. Roku Inc soared +11.15% after the streaming service reported a narrower-than-expected fourth quarter loss per share (-US$1.70 versus consensus US$1.73), and better-than-expected revenue after the close of the previous session. The small capitalisation Russell 2000 lost -0.96%.

US equity markets advanced as investors digested stronger-than-expected retail sales figures for January, the latest in a string of economic data that has fuelled investor bets that the Federal Reserve will have to raise interest rates further to curb inflation - Dow edged +39-points or +0.11%, rallying more than >250-points from its intrasession low. The broader S&P500 +0.28%, with Communication Services (+1.017%) and Consumer Discretionary (+1.16%) both rising over >1% to lift nine of the eleven primary sectors. Energy (down -1.78%) and Health Care (-0.51%) settled in the red. The Nasdaq +0.92%. Airbnb Inc jumped +13.35% after reporting record fourth-quarter revenue and profit after the close of the previous session to achieve its first profitable year. The small capitalisation Russell 2000 rose +1.09%.

US equity markets settled modestly weaker as investors parsed the latest inflation figures - Dow fell -157-points or -0.46%, Boeing Co (up +1.30%) The broader S&P500 dipped -0.03%, with Real Estate (down -1.04%) and Consumer Staples (-0.93%) leading seven of the eleven primary sectors lower. Consumer Discretionary (up +1.18%) sat atop the primary sector leaderboard. Ford Motor Co (down -0.92%) flagged plans to cut 3,800 jobs in Europe over the next three years as it looks to lower costs and improve profitability while shifting production toward electric vehicles. The company also temporarily halted production and delivery of its electric pickup truck due to a battery problem. Occidental Petroleum Corp rose +2.44% after Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway Inc (up +2.44%) disclosed that it increased its stake in the oil and gas company to 28.0% from 21.4%. Berkshire Hathaway also increased its stake in Apple Inc (down -0.42%) during the fourth quarter to 5.8%, according to the latest filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) The Nasdaq added +0.57%, recouping earlier session declines. Tesla Inc rallied +7.51% and chipmaker Nvidia Corp +5.43%. The small capitalisation Russell 2000 slipped -0.06%.

US equity markets advanced as investors’ attention turned to tonight’s AEST January inflation figures - Dow rose +377-points or +1.11%, underpinned by solid gains for Microsoft Corp (up +3.12%), Nike Inc (+2.39%), Salesforce (+2.42%) and Intel Corp (+2.70%). The broader S&P500 climbed +1.14%, with Information Technology (up +1.77%), Consumer Discretionary (+1.46%), Consumer Staples (+1.17%), Financials (+1.10%) and Communication Services (+1.10%) all rising over >1% and leading ten of the eleven primary sectors higher. Energy (down -0.61%) was the only primary sector not to advance overnight. Tesla Inc lost -1.14%. Even those losses combined with those from shorting Coinbase Global Inc (down -1.21%), Microsoft Corp and Lucid Group Inc (up +1.69%) still don’t reach the losses incurred by Tesla shorts. Data compiled by S3 partners shows hedge funds have lost US$7.56B shorting the electric vehicle manufacturer on a mark-to-market basis over the last 30 days. That’s more than double the losses incurred by the second-least profitable short on the list, Apple Inc (up +1.88%), at US$2.6B. The Nasdaq rallied +1.48%. Meta Platforms Inc rose +3.03% following a Financial Times report saying further job cuts could be in the pipeline. In November, the Facebook parent announced it was laying off around 11K employees, which equates to 13% of its staff. The small capitalisation Russell 2000 rose +1.07%.

US equity markets retreated on Friday (10 February) as investors digested mixed corporate earnings and eyed the latest inflation figures later this week - Dow rose +169-points or +0.50%, The broader S&P500 added +0.22%, with Energy (up +3.92%) leading eight of the eleven primary sectors higher. ConocoPhillips rallied +4.67% and ExxonMobil Corp +4.22%. The Nasdaq eased -0.61%. The small capitalisation Russell 2000 added +0.18%.

US equity markets retreated, reversing earlier session gains - Dow fell -249-points or -0.73%, unwinding an earlier rally of over >300-points. Walt Disney Co fell -1.27% after the entertainment giant topped fiscal first-quarter expectations, and Chief Executive Bob Iger announced significant restructuring plans after the close of the previous session. Activist investor Nelson Peltz also called time on his proxy fight against Disney. Salesforce Inc rose +2.38% following news after the close of the previous session that a fifth activist investor, Third Point LLC, had acquired a stake in the company. The broader S&P500 -0.88%, giving up an earlier ~0.9% gain. Communication Services (down -2.80%) was the worst performing sector for a second straight session and led all eleven primary sectors lower. Tesla Inc (up +3.00%) extended its rally into an eighth straight session and has more than doubled since touching a 52-week low. Elon Musk said the electric vehicle maker’s Master Plan 3 would be unveiled at the company’s annual meeting and investor event on 1 March. The Nasdaq -1.02%, having been ~1.4% higher earlier in the session. Google parent Alphabet Inc fell -0.69% (following a -7.68% drop in the previous session) a day after the company held an event to show off its new artificial intelligence (AI) chatbot called Bard, and as investors grew concerned around rising competition in the artificial intelligence (AI) space. Microsoft Corp (-1.17%) held an event to show off its own AI technologies in its competing search engine earlier in the week. The small capitalisation Russell 2000 lost -1.33%.