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US equity markets advanced, climbing late in the session as investors pondered a cooler-than-expected wholesale inflation report and some upbeat earnings from major retailers - Dow added +56-points or +0.17%, The broader S&P500 rose +0.87%, with seven of the eleven primary sectors recording gains of over >1%. Only two primary sectors – Materials (down -0.11%) and Health Care (-0.07%) – settle in the red. The technology-centric Nasdaq rallied +1.45%. The small capitalisation Russell 2000 gained +1.50%.

US equity markets retreated, with losses accelerating in the final hour of trading - Dow fell -211-points or -0.63%, The broader S&P500 -0.89%, with Real Estate (down -2.65%), Consumer Discretionary (-1.71%) and Financials (-1.54%) leading ten of the eleven primary sectors lower. Health Care eked out a +0.03% gain to be the only primary sector to advance. The Nasdaq lost -1.13%. Amazon.com Inc (down -2.28%) is reportedly the latest big tech name poised to announce employee layoffs. The company is expected to announce it is cutting ~10K employees as soon as this week – which would be the largest in the company’s history – and primarily affect Amazon’s devices organization, retail division and human resources, according to The New York Times. The small capitalisation Russell 2000 lost -1.14%.

US equity markets extended their rally to cap a strong week that saw a cooler-than-expected October inflation print fuel speculation that the Federal Reserve may slow the pace of monetary policy tightening - Dow edged +32-points or +0.10% higher. Walgreens Boots Alliance Inc jumped +7.2% after Deutsche Bank upgraded the stock to ‘buy’ from ‘hold’. Walt Disney Co (up +5.03%) plans to institute a targeted hiring freeze as well as some job cuts, according to an internal memo sent to executives on Friday (11 November). The news comes after Chief Financial Officer Christine McCarthy said during Disney’s earnings call last Tuesday (8 November) that the company was looking for ways to trim costs. The broader S&P500 rose +0.92% to 3,992.93, with Energy (up +3.06%), Communication Services (+2.47%) and Consumer Discretionary (+2.46%) all rising over >2% to lead six of the eleven primary sector higher. The more defensive Health Care (down -1.28%) and Utilities (-1.15%) sectors were the key laggards. The Nasdaq gained +1.88%, with Amazon.com Inc gaining +4.31% and Google parent Alphabet Inc +2.72%. The small capitalisation Russell 2000 added +0.79%.

US equity markets soared, logging their single session gains since stocks were emerging from the depths of the pandemic bear market 2020 following a cooler-than-expected October inflation report - Dow soared +1,201.43-points or +3.70%, with Salesforce Inc (up +10.02%) and Apple Inc (+8.90%) combining for an ~171-point bump for the bluechip index. The broader S&P500 +5.54%, recording its biggest one-day rally since April 2020. Information Technology (up +8.33%), Real Estate (+7.74%) and Consumer Discretionary (+7.70%) all climbed over >7% to lead all eleven primary sectors solidly higher. The Nasdaq +7.35%. 54 S&P 500 index constituents settled with gains of 10%+. The small capitalisation Russell 2000 jumped +6.11%.

Regards US equity markets retreated ahead of the key inflation figures for October tonight AEST, and as the midterm elections provided no clear answers and with control of Congress still hanging in the balance - Dow fell -647-points or -1.95%, Walt Disney Co slumped -13.15% after the entertainment giant posted lower-than-expected earnings per share (US$0.30c versus consensus US$0.55c) and revenue (US$20.15B versus consensus US$21.24B) for the fiscal fourth quarter after the closing bell of the previous session. The broader S&P500 dropped -2.08%, with Energy (down -4.88%), Consumer Discretionary (-3.12%) and Information Technology (-2.65%) leading all eleven primary sectors lower. Tesla Inc fell -7.17% following news that Chief Executive Elon Musk sold ~US$3.95B worth of shares a week after closing his ~US44B acquisition of Twitter Inc. The Nasdaq shed -2.46%. Meta Platforms Inc rose +5.22% after the technology giant confirmed it was planning to lay off over >11,000 employees, or ~13% of the company’s workforce. Chief Executive Mark Zuckerberg observed that “Not only has online commerce returned to prior trends, but the macroeconomic downturn, increased competition, and ads signal loss have caused our revenue to be much lower than I’d expected,” adding “I got this wrong, and I take responsibility for that.” In addition to the layoffs, Meta confirmed its forecast for fourth-quarter revenue of US$30B to US $32.5B. Meta said the outlook for 2022 expenses it provided on the call to discuss its latest earnings already contemplated the newly announced cuts, and remains unchanged at US$85B to US$87B. However, the company also said it now sees 2023 expenses of US$94B to US$100B, which compares with a previous forecast of $96 billion to $101 billion, reflecting reduced hiring plans for next year. The small capitalisation Russell 2000 lost -2.34%.

US equity markets climbed on as Americans headed to the polling booths for the midterm elections, shrugging off a mid-afternoon dip - Dow rallied +334-points or +1.02%, The broader S&P500 rose +0.56%, with Materials (up +1.68%) leading ten of the eleven primary sectors higher. Consumer Discretionary (down -0.30%) was the only primary sector to settle in the red. The Nasdaq settled +0.49% higher. The small capitalisation Russell 2000 added +0.19%.

US equity markets advanced as US voters head to the polling booths tonight AEST for the midterm elections, and with investors eyeing inflation data later in the week - Dow +423-points or +1.31%. Walgreens Boots Alliance Inc gained +4.10% following reports that No. 2 U.S. pharmacy chain would invest ~US$3.5B to support the primary care provider VillageMD’s acquisition of urgent care provider Summit Health in a deal valued at nearly US$9B. Boeing Co (up +3.06%) was another notable Dow performer. The broader S&P500 +0.96%. The Nasdaq rose +0.85%. Apple Inc added +0.39% despite the tech company said iPhone production has been temporarily reduced because of COVID-19 restrictions in China. Meta Platforms Inc gained +6.53% a day after the Wall Street Journal report that said the company could start layoffs as soon as Wednesday (9 November). The small capitalisation Russell 2000 rose 0.64%. Carvana Co (down -15.64%) continued to tumble, with trading in the stock briefly halted after the on-line used car retailer reported disappointing third-quarter results after the closing bell of last Thursday’s (3 November) session.

US equity markets closed out a tough week on a positive note as investors parsed the latest monthly jobs report - Dow gained +402-points or +1.26%, The broader S&P500 climbed +1.36%, PayPal Holdings Inc fell -1.79% after the company trimmed their revenue full year guidance results after the closing bell of last Thursday’s (3 November) session, with Chief Executive Dan Schulman noting that PayPal was “seeing a pullback in discretionary goods that are being spent on by consumers.” The Nasdaq rose +1.28%. Meta Platforms Inc (up +2.11%) is planning to begin large-scale layoffs this week according to a report in The Wall Street Journal. The small capitalisation Russell 2000 +1.13%. BioNTech SE rose +6.24% after China approved the biotechnology company's mRNA COVID-19 vaccine for use among the expatriate population in the People's Republic of China. During German Chancellor Olaf Scholz's visit to Beijing, he and Chinese leader, Xi Jinping, also broached the subject of a pathway for approval of the vaccine for use among the wider Chinese population, The Wall Street Journal reported. Separately, BioNTech and partner Pfizer Inc (up +1.40%) said new data from a Phase 2/3 trial showed that the booster for companies' omicron BA.4/BA.5-adapted bivalent COVID-19 vaccine demonstrated a "robust neutralizing immune response" after one month. The companies said immune responses for those getting the booster were "substantially higher" than for those who only received the original COVID-19 vaccine, with similar safety and tolerability profiles. Carvana Co tumbled -38.95% to post its worst single session performance on record after the on-line used car retailer reported disappointing third-quarter results after the closing bell of last Thursday’s (3 November) session that prompted Morgan Stanley to pull their rating and price target on the company, citing deterioration in the used car market and a volatile funding environment. Friday also saw the expiration of weekly and daily options tied to single stocks, stock indexes and exchange-traded funds (ETFs).

The S&P500 and Nasdaq extended declines into a fourth day following a choppy session ahead of tonight’s AEST October jobs figures, with Treasury yields continuing to march higher - Dow down -147-points or -0.46%, The broader S&P500 lost -1.06%, with Information Technology (-3.00%) and Communication Services (-2.83%) again among the worst performing primary sectors. Energy sat atop the primary sector leaderboard with a +2.04% gain. The Nasdaq shed -1.73%. Qualcomm Inc dropped -7.66% after the chip maker released its third quarter result after the closing bell of the previous session and cut its full year earnings per share (EPS) outlook citing weakening handset sales. The small capitalisation Russell 2000 lost -0.53%.

US equity markets fell sharply late in the session, relinquishing earlier gains as investors digested the latest Federal Reserve monetary policy decision and a more-hawkish-than-expected tone from central bank Chair Jerome Powell - Dow fell -505-points or -1.44%, Boeing Co gained +2.90% after the planemaker’s Chief Executive Officer (CEO) said the company could generate US$10B in cash annually by mid-decade and expects to return cash to shareholders and will not need equity to get there after 2026. The broader S&P500 shed -2.50%, with Consumer Discretionary (-3.79%), Information Technology (-3.47%), and Communication Services (-3.04%) all declining over >3% to lead all eleven primary sectors lower. The Nasdaq tumbled -3.36%, with Amazon.com Inc (down -4.82%), Netflix Inc (-4.80%) and Meta Platforms Inc (-4.89%) all down almost 5%. The small capitalisation Russell 2000 dropped -3.36%.