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US equity markets snapped a three session winning streak ahead of the release of US consumer inflation figures tonight AEST - Dow dipped -0.06% . The broader S&P500 lost -0.72%, with Consumer Discretionary (down -1.70%), Real Estate (-1.36%) and Information Technology (-1.09%) all falling over >1% and leading nine of the eleven primary sectors lower. Health Care (up +0.24%) and Consumer Staples (+0.06%) were the only primary sectors to advance. American Airlines Group Inc fell -0.49% after the company said it’s reducing its schedule due to the fact that it’s still awaiting Boeing Co (-1.64%) Dreamliner deliveries. Tesla Inc fell -6.1% after disappointing some investors who had reportedly optimistically expected the electric vehicle maker to make a major announcement (including a major product announcement and/or stock split). CVS Health Corp gained +4.52% after the company raised its full-year earnings-per-share guidance to at least US$8, up from a previous forecast of between US$7.90 and US$8. The company is also boosting its annual dividend to US$2.20 from US$2 and will execute a US$10B stock buyback program. The Nasdaq -1.71%. The small capitalisation Russell 2000 dropped -2.17.

US equity markets extended their climb into a third consecutive session - Dow edged +35-points or +0.10% higher . The broader S&P500 rose +0.31% to 4,701.21 and within touching distance of its 18 November record closing high of 4,704.54 (and ~0.9% shy of its record intra-day high of 4,473.83). Communication Services (up +0.75%) and Health Care (+0.74%) led eight of the eleven primary sectors higher. Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings Ltd jumped +8.2% to be the biggest gainer in the in the S&P500. Other travel and leisure names also traded strongly, including fellow cruise operator Carnival Corp up +5.51%, and carrier United Airlines Holdings Inc +4.24%. The Nasdaq rose +0.64% to settle within 2% of the technology-centric index’s all time high. The small capitalisation Russell 2000 rose +0.80.

US equity markets consolidated their strong start to the week- Dow up +492-points or +1.40% . The broader S&P500 gained +2.07%, recording its best day since 1 March to sit ~1% away from its all time high. Information Technology (up +3.51%) led all eleven primary sectors higher, with Consumer Discretionary (+2.36%) and Energy (+2.28%) logging gains of over >2%. Tesla Inc rose +4.24% to US$1,051.74, with UBS hiking their target price on the electric vehicle maker to US$1,000 per share and saying it expects “no rival to get even close to Tesla in 2022.” American Airlines Group Inc slipped -0.22% after announcing Doug Parker will retire as Chief Executive Officer (CEO) next year and be succeeded by the company’s president, Robert Isom, on 31 March. Mr Parker will stay on as chairman of American’s board. The Nasdaq jumped +3.03% to log its best single session performance since 9 March. Apple Inc gained +3.54% to US$171.18, buoyed by Morgan Stanley lifting their price target on the technology heavyweight to US$200 (from US$164 previously), citing the company’s commitment to developing augmented and virtual reality technology. The small capitalisation Russell 2000 +2.28%.

Stocks linked to the re-opening economy led a strong start to the week for US equity markets, with the Dow reclaiming the 35,000 level - Dow rallied +647-points or +1.87% to 35,227.03, more than comfortably erasing last week’s -319-point-0.91% decline. The broader S&P500 gained +1.17%, with Industrials (up +1.64%), Consumer Staples (+1.60%), Utilities (+1.53%) and Energy (+1.50%) all logging gains of 1.5%+ to lead all eleven primary sectors higher. Airlines (United Airlines Holdings up +8.32% and American Airlines Group Inc +7.88%) and cruise operators (Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd up +8.22% and Carnival Corp +8.08%) Tesla Inc fell -0.59% after Reuters reported the U.S. SEC has opened a probe into the electric-car maker over whistleblower claims on solar panel defects. The Nasdaq +0.93%. Nvidia Corp fell -2.14% to US$300.37and into correction territory, closing ~10% below their all time closing high of US$333.76 set on 29 November. Late last Thursday (9 December), the Federal Trade Commission sued to block Nvidia’s $40B acquisition of Arm from SoftBank Group Corp (-8.20%) that has met with several headwinds since it was first announced back in late 2020. Fellow chipmaker Advanced Micro Devices Inc (down -3.44%) fell further into correction territory, now down -13.7% from its most recent closing high of US$161.09. Elsewhere, the US listed shares of Alibaba Group Holdings Ltd logged their largest single-day percentage gain since 8 June, 2017 with a +10.4% rally after a tough recent stretch for numerous Chinese internet stocks. The small capitalisation Russell 2000 gained +2.05%.

A broad sell-off in the technology sector saw US equity markets complete a tumultuous week on softer note, with investors digesting the latest November jobs figures and implications for central bank monetary policy - Dow down -60-points or -0.17%, paring an earlier decline of over >300-points. Boeing Co lost -1.9%. The broader S&P500 lost -0.84% to 4,538.43, falling below its 50-day moving average (4,544) once again. Consumer Discretionary (down -1.84%), Information Technology (-1.65%) and Financials (-1.54%) all down over >1.5%. Tesla Inc fell -6.42%. Airlines (Delta Air Lines Inc down -1.8%) and cruise operators (Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings Ltd down -4.54% and Carnival Corp -3.86%) saw fresh selling pressure. The technology-centric Nasdaq -1.92%. Facebook Inc fell -1.9% to settle more than >20% below its intra-day peak in September. Nvidia Corp fell -4.46% a day after the Federal Trade Commission sued to block the US$40B acquisition of Arm from SoftBank Group Corp (-0.71%). The small capitalisation Russell 2000 -2.13%. Ride-hailing giant Didi Global Inc tumbled -22.18% after announcing that it will delist from the New York Stock Exchange and make plans to list in Hong Kong instead following pressure from the Chinese government. The decision comes less than six months after the company listed in the U.S. (with the stock falling ~44% in that period). SoftBank Corp (up +0.13%) and Uber Technologies Inc (down -5.95%) combined own over >30% of Didi. Other Chinese companies listed on the NYSE came under pressure, with JD.Com Inc down -7.71%, Baidu Inc -7.77% and Alibaba Group Holding Ltd -8.23%.

US equity markets rebounded, with cyclicals clawing back some of their recent sharp falls - Dow rallied +618-points or +1.82% . Boeing Co jumped +7.54% after China cleared the 737 Max to return to fly. The broader S&P500 gained +1.42%, with Industrials (+2.89%), Financials (+2.83%), Energy (+2.81%) and Real Estate (+2.67%) all rebounding over >2% to lead all eleven primary sectors higher. The Nasdaq +0.84%. Apple Inc slipped -0.61% after Bloomberg reported that the company told some of its suppliers there could be slowing demand for iPhone 13 models. It previously expected the reduction in its initial production goal to be made up in 2022 but said that may not materialise now. The small capitalisation Russell 2000 rallied +2.74% a day after marking its first correction since June of 2020.

US equity markets relinquished solid gains to settle lower after the country recorded its first confirmed case of the omicron variant of the coronavirus – the Dow staged a 983-point U-turn to settle -462-points or -1.34% lower at 34,022.04, unwinding an earlier +520-point/+1.5% rally and settling below its 200-day moving average (34,361.27) for the first time since July. Salesforce.Com Inc tumbled -11.74% after the customer relationship management company provided disappointing fourth quarter earnings per share (EPS) guidance after the close of the previous session. The broader S&P500 lost -1.18% to 4,513.04, closing below its 50-day moving average (4,539.32) for the first time since 13 October. Communication Services (down -1.98%) and Consumer Discretionary (-1.86%) both fell over >1.5% to lead ten of the eleven primary sectors lower, with seven sectors logging declines of over >1%. Utilities (up +0.16%) was the only primary sector to close in the black. General Motors Co edged +0.33% higher after the automaker slightly raised its 2021 earnings guidance (to ~US14B from US$11.5B-to-US$13.5B previously) on strong pricing, resilient consumer demand and a stronger-than-expected supply of semiconductor chips. The Nasdaq dropped -1.83% after rallying as much as +1.8% earlier in the session. The small capitalisation Russell 2000 shed -2.18% to mark its first official correction since June of 2020. Some commentators also cited tax loss selling as a factor for the recent weakness.

Fresh concerns about the potentially damaging economic effect of the Omicron coronavirus variant and hawkish comments from Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell dragged US equity markets lower - Dow dropped -652-points or -1.86%, with American Express Co (-3.52%) and Salesforce.Com Inc (-3.97%) among the key drags on the index. The broader S&P500 -1.90%. Communication Services (down -3%) led all eleven primary sectors lower, with eight primary sectors logging falls of over >2%. Mastercard Inc (down -2.50%) announced after the closing bell that its directors authorized an +11% dividend increase (to US$0.49c per share) and an US$8B share buyback program. The technology-centric Nasdaq lost -1.55%. Amazon.com Inc (down -1.53%) is reportedly working on custom silicon chips for its hardware network switches to take on Intel Corp (-1.60%) and Nvidia Corp (-2.10%). according to Reuters. The chips, which could help Amazon improve its internal infrastructure as well as AWS, are said to be the result of Amazon’s US$350M acquisition of Israeli chipmaking firm Annapurna Labs back in 2015. Microsoft Corp hosted their Annual General Meeting overnight. The small capitalisation Russell 2000 fell -1.92%.

US equity markets rebounded as President Joe Biden told Americans the fight against the omicron variant of coronavirus won’t involve “shutdowns or lockdowns.” - Dow up +237-points or +0.68% a day after recording its worst daily decline (-905-points or -2.53%) since 28 October, 2020. Walmart Inc lost -1.57% after announcing that it will begin the search for a successor to Chief Financial Officer (CFO) Brett Biggs, who has been with the company for 22 years and became CFO on 31 December, 2015. However, Merck & Co (down -5.39%) was the largest drag on the Dow after Citi downgraded the stock to neutral from buy, saying in a research note that development struggles for the company’s HIV drug were taking a bite out of Merck’s long-term potential. The broader S&P500 gained +1.32%, with Information Technology (up +2.64%) leading all eleven primary sectors higher. Consumer Discretionary (up +1.63%), Utilities (+1.57%), Real Estate (+1.33%) and Communication Services (+1.12%) all rose over >1%. Moderna Inc continued to soar, climbing a further +11.80% overnight. The biotechnology company’s Chief Medical Officer Paul Burton said Sunday (28 November) that Moderna could roll out a reformulated vaccine against omicron early next year. However, Pfizer Inc fell -2.96%. The technology-centric Nasdaq rose +1.88%, with Apple Inc rising +2.19% and Amazon.com Inc +1.63% and Microsoft Corp rose +2.11% ahead of its Annual General Meeting (AGM). Twitter Inc fell -2.74%, unwinding an earlier rally of over >11% following news that Chief Executive Officer Jack Dorsey was stepping down from the role, effective immediately. Parag Agrawal, Twitter’s chief technology officer, will take over the helm. Mr Dorsey will remain a member of the board until his term expires at the 2022 meeting of stockholders, the company said. However, the small capitalisation Russell 2000 slipped 0.18%.

An ugly finish to the shortened Thanksgiving week for US equity markets during a thinly traded, abbreviated Black Friday session as a new COVID variant found in South Africa triggered a shift away from risk assets - Dow dropped -905-points or -2.53%, down over >1,000 points at its worst levels of the session and recording its worst daily decline since 28 October, 2020. The decline for the Dow saw it mark its first close below its 50-day moving average (at 35,261.93) since 14 October. Boeing Co fell -5.41%. The broader S&P500 tumbled -2.27% to 4,594.62, with Energy (down -4.07%) leading all eleven primary sectors lower and with six of those logging falls of over >2.5%. Travel stocks were unsurprisingly under the pump, with Delta Air Lines Inc down -8.34%, United Airlines Holdings Inc -9.57%, American Airlines Group Inc –8.79%, and cruise operators Royal Caribbean Group tumbling -13.22% and Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings Ltd -11.36%. A number of technical/charting analysts cite the 50-day moving average of 4,570 as a key level, along with 4,566 (representing a 38.2% retracement of the rally); and 4,550 (a previous high from early September) and the round figure of 4,500. Tesla Inc slid -3.05% after a report that the company will invest US$188M to expand production capacity at its Shanghai factory. The Nasdaq -2.23%. Microsoft Corp’s (down -2.44%) Chief Executive Officer Satya Nadella sold ~838.6K shares of common stock – or about half of his holding - last week (22 and 23 November) between US$349.22 and US$334.37 per share. The declines for the S&P 500, Dow and Nasdaq Composite represented their worst Black Friday performance since 1950.The small capitalisation Russell 2000 -3.67%. China’s ride-hailing giant Didi Global Inc sank -2.84% after Bloomberg reported that Chinese regulators have asked the firm’s executives to formulate a plan to delist from the U.S.