Morgans AM

US equity markets fell sharply ahead of tonight’s AEST consumer price inflation (CPI) figures for May - Dow fell -638-points or -1.94%, The broader S&P500 shed -2.38%, with Communication Services (down -2.75%), Information Technology (-2.72%) and Financials (-2.61%) all declining over >2.5% to lead all eleven primary sectors lower. Tesla Inc fell -0.89% despite UBS upgrading the electric vehicle leader to “buy” from “neutral”, while leaving the price target of US$1,100 unchanged. The Nasdaq dropped -2.75%. All three benchmark indices booked their worst daily percentage drops since 18 May, according to FactSet data. Facebook parent Meta Platforms (down -6.43%) began trading under its new ticker, META, completing a rebranding effort. Advanced Micro Devices Inc (down -3.04%) hosted an Investor Day, with Chief Executive Lisa Su identifying Artificial Intelligence as the chipmaker’s “single highest growth opportunity” over the next few years. With the recent acquisition of Pensando, Ms Su said that AMD now has leading technology in data processing units (DPUs) chips specifically designed to process data on a large scale, adding that the company plans to be the “partner of choice in the data centre over the next three to four years.” Ms Su also released details of the company’s financial model over the next three to four years. The company is predicting annual revenue growth of ~20% annualised, free cash flow margins of more than >25%, and gross margins of more than >57%. AMD just broke 50% gross margins a few quarters ago, while Intel Corp (down -2.96%) has struggled to keep its gross margins higher than 50%. The small capitalisation Russell 2000 lost -2.12%. Nutrien Ltd rose +1.06% after the world’s largest fertiliser company said it has plans to boost its fertiliser production capability as the world grapples with shaky supply from eastern Europe. The company said it will ramp up potash production capability to 18M tonnes by 2025, representing a 40% increase compared to 2020, citing “structural changes in global energy, agriculture and fertiliser markets”.

US equity markets retreated in muted trading, snapping a two session winning streak as investors continued to eye Friday night’s AEST (10 June) consumer price inflation (CPI) figures for May - Dow down -269-points or -0.81%. Intel Corp fell -5.28% after management warned of weakening demand for semiconductors at an industry conference. Separately, Citi Research analysts cautioned that the company could pre-announce weaker-than-expected earnings for the second quarter. The broader S&P500 shed -1.08%, with Real Estate (down -2.43%) and Materials (-2.10%) leading ten of the eleven primary sectors lower. Energy (up +0.15%) sat atop the primary sector leaderboard for a second consecutive session and was the only primary sector to advance overnight. Exxon Mobil Corp rose +1.18% to a record closing high of US$104.59. Altria Group Inc shed -8.37% to US$49.49 after Morgan Stanley cut their recommendation the cigarette and heated tobacco seller to “Underweight” (lowering the price target to US$50 from US$54), citing inflation pressures and long-term competitive risks. Domino’s Pizza Inc slipped -0.33% to US$384.00, with analysts at CFRA downgrading the company to a “Hold” recommendation, but lifting their target price to US$410 (from US$400). The Nasdaq lost -0.73%. The small capitalisation Russell 2000 lost -1.49%. The US-listed shares of Alibaba Group Holdings jumped +14.67% as Chinese technology stocks more broadly enjoyed a strong session in Hong Kong yesterday (8 June), with sentiment buoyed a wave of videogame approvals from regulators in China. It potentially marked a sign of easing regulatory pressures for gaming stocks in particular and the Chinese technology sector at large.

US equity markets advanced, picking up steam late in the session and shaking off early weakness following a profit warning from retailer Target Corp before the opening bell - Dow up +264points or +0.8%, The broader S&P500 rose +0.95%, with Energy (up +3.14%) returning to the top of the primary sector leaderboard and leading ten of the eleven primary sectors higher. Exxon Mobil Corp gained +4.58% to $103.37, climbing above >US$100 per share for the first time since 2014 (buoyed by an upgrade from EvercoreISI). Consumer Discretionary (down -0.37%) was the only primary sector to close in the red. Target Corp fell -2.31% after the retailer announced a plan to reduce its excess inventory (including markdowns, cancelling orders and removing inventory, along with price hikes to offset higher fuel and transportation costs, and supply chain adjustments such as increased holding capacity near U.S. ports), and downwardly revised its operating-margin guidance. The Nasdaq +0.94%. Apple Inc rose +1.76% despite news that the company must change the connector on iPhones sold in Europe by 2024 after European Union (EU) countries and lawmakers agreed to a single charging port for mobile phones, tablets and cameras. The company introduced its new MacBook Air and MacBook Pro models a day earlier during the keynote address of its annual Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) and also launched Apple Pay Later, a buy-now-pay-later (BNPL) service with no interest fees, in partnership with Goldman Sachs Group. The small capitalisation Russell 2000 rallied +1.57%. In merger and acquisition (M&A) news, Kohl's Corp rallied +8.24% after news the department store chain entered exclusive talks with retail store operator Franchise Group Inc (+4.78%) over a potential sale that would value it at nearly US$8B.

US equity markets edged higher after a muted session as investors await key inflation figures later in the week - Dow inched +16-points or +0.05% higher, climbing as much as +336-points earlier in the session. The broader S&P500 added +0.31%, with Consumer Discretionary (up +1.03) and Communication Services (+0.98%) rebounding to lead eight of the eleven primary sectors higher. Energy dipped -0.11% after outperforming in recent sessions. The Nasdaq +0.40%. Amazon.com Inc’s 20-for-1 stock split took effect overnight, closing +1.99% higher at US$124.79 after closing at a pre-split adjusted US$2,447 last Friday (3 June). The last time Amazon’s stock traded below the four-digit level pre-split level was October 2017 Apple Inc (up +0.52%) introduced its new MacBook Air and MacBook Pro models during the keynote address of its annual Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) overnight. Both of the new Apple laptops will feature the company’s newly announced M2 custom chip. Twitter Inc fell -1.49% after Tesla Inc (up +1.60%) Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Elon Musk said in a letter that he could terminate the merger deal if the social-media company continues to refuse to provide the information he has requested regarding spam and fake accounts. Twitter responded in a statement that it “has and will continue to cooperatively share information” with Mr Musk. The small capitalisation Russell 2000 rose +0.36%. In merger and acquisition (M&A) news, budget carrier Spirit Airlines Inc rallied +7.04% after its bigger rival, JetBlue Airways, sweetened its offer to buy the company to US$31.50 per share (from US$30).

US equity markets retreated on Friday (3 May) after a stronger than expected employment report buttressed expectations of further interest rate hikes - Dow down -349-points or -1.05%, The broader S&P500 fell -1.63%, with Consumer Discretionary (down -2.85%), Information Technology (-2.48%) and Communication Services (-2.37%) all dropping over >2% lead ten of the eleven primary sectors lower on Friday (3 May). Energy (up +1.40%) was the only primary sector to advance. Tesla Inc fell -9.22% after Reuters reported, citing an internal email, that Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Elon Musk wants to cut 10% of jobs at the electric vehicle maker. According to Reuters’ report, Mr Musk also said in the email that he has a “super bad” feeling about the economy. Mr Musk’s comments followed similarly cautious comments from JPMorgan Chief Executive Officer (CEO) CEO Jamie Dimon earlier last week warning of an economic “hurricane” caused by the Federal Reserve and the war in Ukraine is brewing. American Airlines Group Inc fell -7.10% after the air carrier raised its revenue growth outlook (now expects second-quarter revenue to be up 11% to 13% from the same period in pre-pandemic 2019, compared with previous guidance of up 6% to 8%) but trimmed its capacity guidance (now expects available seat miles to be down 7% to 8% from 2019 levels versus previous expectations of a decline of 6% to 8%) and raised its fuel-cost estimate (average fuel price per gallon estimate was raised to US$3.92 to US$3.97 from US$3.59 to US$3.64, and the outlook for cost per available seat mile (CASM) excluding fuel was raised to 10% to 11% above 2019 levels from 8% to 10%). The Nasdaq -2.47%. Apple Inc fell -3.86% following a cautious research note from Morgan Stanley that cited slowing app store growth. The company’s Worldwide Developers Conference kicks off tonight AEST, with high expectations for its next generation operating system, a new Apple Watch and possibly a glimpse at the headset for virtual and artificial reality. Google-parent Alphabet Inc and Meta Platforms Inc declined roughly -2.6% and -4.1% respectively. Amazon.com Inc fell -2.52% to US$2,447 ahead of the 20-for-1 stock split becoming effective tonight AEST, meaning the stock should trade around US$122. Amazon’s share count will jump to 10.2B from 509M. It marks the fourth time Amazon has declared a stock split since it went public in 1997, but the first in more than two decades. Alphabet Inc’s own 20-for-1 stock split takes effect in mid-July. The small capitalisation Russell 2000 lost -0.77%. In merger and acquisition (M&A) news, Turning Point Therapeutics Inc soared +118.35% after the clinical-stage oncology company agreed to be acquired by biopharmaceutical company Bristol-Myers Squibb Co (+0.13%) in an all-cash deal valuing Turning Point at ~US$3.77B.

US equity markets rallied in the final hour of the session, with the benchmark indices booking their largest daily percentage climb since 27 May - Dow up +435-points or +1.33%, recovering from an earlier slide of over >300-points. The broader S&P500 rose +1.84%, with Consumer Discretionary rallying +3.03% to lead ten of the eleven primary sectors higher. Energy was the only primary sector to settle in the red, down -0.30%. Bloomberg reported that Citigroup Inc (up +0.08%) may record losses of at least US$50M following a London staffer’s “fat finger” trade that caused a ‘flash crash’ in European stocks last month. The Nasdaq gained +2.69%. Microsoft Corp added +0.79% despite the software giant lowering its fiscal fourth quarter earnings per share (US$2.24-to-US$2.32 from US$2.28-to-US$2.35, and versus consensus US$2.33) and revenue (US$51.94B-to-US$52.74B) guidance versus US$52.40B-to-US$53.20B) to reflect and "unfavourable" currency impact. Meta Platforms Inc rose +5.42% a day after Chief Operating Officer (COO) Sheryl Sandberg announced she was stepping down after 14-years with the company. The small capitalisation Russell 2000 rallied +2.31%.

US equity markets opened June on the back foot - Dow down -177-points or -0.54%, paring an earlier decline of as much as -405-points. Salesforce Inc jumped +9.88% after the cloud-based customer-relationship-management company topped Wall Street estimates for first quarter after the closing bell of the previous session. The broader S&P500 -0.75%, with Financials (down -1.67%) leading ten of the eleven primary sectors lower. Energy (up +1.76%) was the only primary sector to advance. Delta Air Lines Inc fell -5.16% despite the carrier raising its total and unit revenue guidance for the second quarter, while the capacity outlook was lowered. Delta said it expects "strong" results for the quarter through June, and now expects revenue to be ~100% of what it was for the same period of pre-pandemic 2019, up from previous guidance of 93% to 97% of 2019 levels, while unit revenue is now expected to be 7%-8% better than previously expected. The company lowered its estimate for available seat miles (ASM) versus 2019 to 82% to 83% from approximately 84%, while raising its outlook for cost per available seat mile (CASM) excluding fuel to be up 20% to 22% from up approximately 17%. Delta's estimate for fuel price per gallon was boosted to US$3.60 to US$3.70 from $3.20 to $3.35. The Nasdaq -0.72%. Meta Platforms Inc fell -2.58% after Chief Operating Officer (COO) Sheryl Sandberg announced she was stepping down after 14-years with the company. The small capitalisation Russell 2000 lost -0.49%.

US equity markets closed out the month on a weaker footing - Dow down -223-points or -0.67% , snapping a six session winning streak. The broader S&P500 -0.63%. After outperforming earlier in the session, the Energy sector settled -1.65% lower to lead nine of the eleven primary sectors lower. Consumer Discretionary (up +0.76%) and Communication Services (+0.40%) were the only primary sectors to advance overnight. The Nasdaq -0.41%. Both the S&P500 and Nasdaq snapped a three session winning streak. The small capitalisation Russell 2000 lost -1.26%.

Fed Governor Christopher Waller said following a speech to the Institute for Monetary and Financial Stability in Frankfurt that he is “advocating 50 (basis point hikes) on the table every meeting until we see substantial reductions in inflation. Until we get that, I don't see the point of stopping." Mr Waller's comments came ahead of a meeting tonight AEST between Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell and U.S. President Joe Biden for a discussion called by the White House on state of the American and global economy.

US equity markets rallied strongly ahead of the holiday weekend, with technology stocks leading the advance - Dow up +576-points or +1.7%, logging its straight day of gains of more than >500 points and rallying for a sixth straight day in its longest winning streak since December 2021. The 30-stock index was powered by gains for Salesforce Inc (up +1.63%), Apple Inc (+4.08%), Microsoft Corp (+2.76%) and International Business Machines (IBM) Corp (+1.74%). The broader S&P500 +2.47%, with Consumer Discretionary (up +3.47%) and Information Technology (+3.44%) climbing over >3% to lead all eleven primary sectors (over >1%) higher. The Nasdaq +3.33% to 12,131.13, the technology-centric indice’s first close above >12,000 since 6 May. The small capitalisation Russell 2000 +2.70%. US equity and bond markets are CLOSED tonight AEST for the Memorial Day holiday.