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US equity markets mixed as investors continued to digest the latest batch of corporate earnings releases - Dow rose +104-points or +0.31%, booking a third straight session of gains. The broader S&P500 dipped -0.07%, with Communication Services (-0.69%) and Health Care (-0.65%) both down over >0.5% and leading five of the eleven primary sectors lower. Industrials sat atop the primary sector leaderboard with a +0.65% rise. The Nasdaq slipped -0.27%. The small capitalisation Russell 2000 lost -0.27%.

US equity markets continued their strong start to 2023, with both the S&P500 and Nasdaq posting their highest settlements since 2 December last year - Dow gained +254-points or +0.76%. Salesforce Inc rose +3.05% following reports that activist investor Elliott Management Corp has made a multibillion-dollar investment in the software company. The broader S&P500 rose +1.19% to 4,019.81 with Information Technology (up +2.28%), Communication Services (+1.78%) and Consumer Discretionary (1.57%) all rising over >1.5% to lead ten of the eleven primary sectors higher. Energy (down -0.20%) was the only primary sector to settle in the red. According to Bespoke Investment Group, the S&P500 closed more than >1% above its 200-day moving average for the first time since April last year and the more than year long downtrend has been broken. The Nasdaq rallied +2.01% to 11,364.41, with Apple Inc up +2.35% after Morgan Stanley nominated the stock among their top picks, saying the China re-opening has “important implications” for demand as well as supply. Spotify Technology SA rose +2.07%, paring an earlier rally of as much as 6.4% after the music streamer said it would axe ~6% of its workforce - the latest in a series of large cuts announced by high-flying technology groups. Chipmakers Advanced Micro Devices Inc (up +9.22%), Nvidia Inc (+7.59%) and Qualcomm Inc (+6.62%) also traded particularly strongly. The small capitalisation Russell 2000 rose +1.25%.

US equity markets advanced to cap a choppy trading week, with investors eyeing a big fortnight on the corporate earnings calendar - Dow gained +331-points or +1.00%. Goldman Sachs Group Inc fell -2.54% after the Wall Street Journal (WSJ) reported that the Federal Reserve is investigating the investment bank’s consumer business. The regulator is looking into whether Goldman had the right safeguards in place to protect consumers when it increased lending in its Marcus division, according to the WSJ report, citing sources familiar with the matter. The broader S&P500 rose +1.89% to log its best daily percentage gain since 6 January. Communication Services (up +3.96%) and Information Technology (+2.72%) both rose over >2.5% to lead all eleven primary sectors higher. Costco Wholesale Corp rose +2.26% after announcing late Thursday (19 January) that its board reauthorised a stock buyback program of up to US$4B. The Nasdaq rallied +2.66%. Netflix Inc jumped +8.46% after the streaming giant posted stronger-than-expected paid subscriber numbers for the fourth quarter (7.66M versus consensus 4.57M) after the close of last Thursday’s (19 January) session, while the company also disclosed that co-Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Reed Hastings would be stepping down from his position and transitioning to the post of executive chairman. Google parent Alphabet Inc gained +5.34% after becoming the latest technology company to announce job cuts, with plans to cut 12K jobs across various areas, roles and regions within the company (equating to over 6% of its global workforce). All of Amazon.com Inc (up +3.81%), Meta Platforms Inc (+2.37%), Microsoft Corp (+3.57%) and Twitter Inc have slashed their head counts recently. Eli Lilly and Co fell -1.43% after the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) rejected the pharmaceutical company’s experimental Alzheimer’s disease treatment as it had not provided enough trial data. The small capitalisation Russell 2000 rose +1.69%.

US equity markets - Dow fell -252.40 points or -0.76% to 33,044.556, The broader S&P500 -30.01 points -0.76% to 3,898.85. The Nasdaq -104.74 points or -0.96% to 10,852.27. The small capitalisation Russell 2000 -18.02 points or -0.97% to 1,836.35.

US equity markets accelerated falls into the close following lower than expected retail sales data - Dow fell -613.89 points or -1.81% to 33,296.96, The broader S&P500 -62.11 points -1.56% to 3,928.86, The Nasdaq -138.10 points or -1.24% to 10,957.01. The small capitalisation Russell 2000 -27.82 points or -1.48% to 1,856.47. Microsoft confirmed it will layoff 10,000 or approximately 5% of staff taking recent tech layoffs to over 60k.

US equity markets were mixed as 7 of the 11 sectors dropped lead by Materials and Communication Services - Dow fell -391.76 points or 1.14% to 33,910.85, The broader S&P500 8.12 points or -0.20% to 3,990.97, The Nasdaq bounced on the back of Tesla, 15.96 points or 0.14% to 11,095.11. The small capitalisation Russell 2000 fell 2.95 points or 0.16% to 1,884.08.

European bourses lifted on lower energy prices (Natural Gas futures falling 15% over night) and Chinese re-opening, Janet Yellen is scheduled to meet the Chinese Finance Minister in Zurich this week. The pan-European Stoxx 600 index (which includes UK equities) +0.46%.to . Germany's DAX up +0.3% and France's CAC rose +0.28%. In economic data, German Wholesale prices climbed 12.8%. German economic sentiment will be released later tonight.

US equity markets climbed as investors weighed a flurry of bank earnings results for the fourth quarter and fresh data on consumer sentiment and inflation expectations - Dow rose +113-points or +0.33%, Caterpillar Inc rose +1.33% to US$258.46, logging a fourth consecutive record closing high after Bank of America analysts turned bullish on the company in the belief that the construction- and mining-equipment maker will weather a 2023 recession better than many might expect. Bank of America upgraded their rating on Caterpillar to ‘Buy’ from ‘neutral’, and lifted their target price by +36% to US$295. The broader S&P500 added +0.40%, with Consumer Discretionary (up +0.97%) sitting atop the primary sector leaderboard on Friday (13 January) and leading eight of the eleven primary sectors higher. The more defensive Real Estate (down -0.61%) and Utilities (-0.44%) underperformed. Tesla Inc fell -0.94% after the electric vehicle cut prices in the U.S. and Europe again, according to listings on the company’s website last Thursday night AEST (12 January). The Nasdaq gained +0.71%. The small capitalisation Russell 2000 added +0.58%.

US equity markets advanced as investors digested the latest inflation report that saw the cost of living cool for the first time on a monthly basis since the onset of the COVID pandemic in 2020, while the annual rate of inflation fell for the sixth month in a row - Dow rose +217-points or +0.64%. Walt Disney Co rose +3.61% after the company announced Mark Parker, the executive chairman of Nike Inc (down-0.04%), as its new chairman. In addition, the company opposed Nelson Peltz of Trian as he pushes for a seat on the board, igniting a proxy battle. The broader S&P500 added +0.34%, with Energy (up +1.87%) and Real Estate (+1.09%) gaining over >1% to lead eight of the eleven primary sectors higher. The more defensive sectors underperformed overnight, with Consumer Staples (down -0.79%), Utilities (-0.64%) and Health Care (-0.39%) all settling in the red. It marked the first time the S&P 500 has risen three days in a row since early November. American Airlines Group Inc jumped +9.71% after the carrier boosted its revenue and profit estimates for the fourth quarter. The airline, which reports earnings 26 January, cited strong demand and high fares for the hike in estimates. Tesla Inc edged +0.28% higher. Retail traders unloaded US$746 million worth of stock in the electric vehicle maker over the past week, bringing the total outflow over the last three weeks to US$2.1B, according to data from JPMorgan. The selling came even as investors piled back into stocks, buying US$1.2B worth of equities in the past week. That buying included US$157M of Amazon.com Inc (up +0.19%) and US$102M of Apple Inc (down -0.06%). The Nasdaq climbed +0.65%, extending its gains into a fifth consecutive session and marking the longest winning streak for the technology-centric index since 8 June last year. The small capitalisation Russell 2000 +1.74%.

US equity markets rallied ahead of the release of the latest monthly consumer inflation figures tonight AEST - Dow gained +269-points or +0.80%, The broader S&P500 +1.28%, with Real Estate (up +3.60%) and Consumer Discretionary (+2.68%) climbing over >2.5% to lead all eleven primary sectors higher. Ford Motor Co (up +2.96%) extended its rally into a ninth straight session and logged its highest settlement since 14 December. The Nasdaq rallied +1.76%, with the technology-centric index logging its first four-day rally since September. The small capitalisation Russell 2000 gained +1.05%. Carvana Co jumped +24.43% to US$5.50 on heavy volume and had rebounded ~47.8% since closing at a record low of US$3.72 on 27 December. The rally came despite no stock specific news (the company hasn’t issued a press released or a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission yet this year) although there was an analyst note published saying data sources indicated wholesale used vehicle prices showed signs of normalisation through the last couple months of the fourth quarter, and the average daily sales conversion rate improved in December from November.