Morgans AM

US bond and equity markets were CLOSED overnight AEST for Thanksgiving Day, while it is an abbreviated session tonight AEST.

US equity markets pushed modestly higher as the recent jump in bond yields took a breather, lifting some pressure on the technology sector - Dow dipped -9-points or -0.0% . The broader S&P500 added +0.23%. The Nasdaq +0.44%. The small capitalisation Russell 2000 +0.15%. US bond and equity markets CLOSED tonight AEST for Thanksgiving Day followed by an abbreviated session on ‘Black Friday’ (26 November).

US equity markets mixed, with Federal Reserve Chair’s Jerome Powell’s nomination for a second term weighing on the technology sector (which is often more sensitive to changes in interest rate policy) - Dow gained +195-points or +0.55% , with investment banks Goldman Sachs Group Inc (up +2.56%) and JPMorgan Chase & Co (+2.39%) trading strongly for a second straight session. The broader S&P500 edged +0.17% higher, with Energy (up +3%), Financials (+1.55%) and Real Estate (+1.10%) up over >1% to lead eight of the eleven primary sectors higher. The technology-centric Nasdaq lost -0.50%. The small capitalisation Russell 2000 slipped -0.15%.

US equity markets mixed after a late session sell-off - Dow added +17-points or +0.05%, unwinding an earlier rally of more than >300-points. However, investment banks Goldman Sachs Group Inc (up +2.26%) and JPMorgan Chase & Co (+2.13%) both help up well following the announcement that President Joe Biden has nominated Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell for a second four-year term. The broader S&P500 eased -0.32, with Communication Services (down -1.24%) and Information Technology (-1.14%) leading five of the eleven primary sectors lower. Energy (+1.77%) and Financials (1.43%) sat atop the primary sector leaderboard. The technology-centric Nasdaq fell -1.26% as investors eyed potential rising interest rates. The small capitalisation Russell 2000 fell -0.50%.

Concerns over a resurgence of COVID-19 saw US equity markets struggle on Friday (19 November) although technology stocks pushed higher – Dow down -269-points or -0.75%, with Boeing Co (down -5,77%) a notable drag. The broader S&P500 eased -0.14%, with Energy (down -3.91%) and Financials (-1.11%) the worst performing primary sectors. Information Technology (up +0.77%) headed the gainers lists. Carriers (United Airlines Holdings fell -2.78% and Delta Air Lines Inc -1.07%) and cruise operators (Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings Ltd -2.08% and Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd -2.98%) were under pressure. The Nasdaq added +0.40% to log its 46th record closing high of 2021 at 16,057.44. Intuit Inc (up +10.08%) and Micron Technology Inc (+7.80%) were among the best performers on the technology-centric index. The small capitalisation Russell 2000 fell 0.86%.

US equity markets weaker as inflation concerns continued to drag on sentiment - Dow down -211-points or -0.58% . The broader S&P500 eased -0.26%, with Energy (down -1.78%) leading seven of the eleven primary sectors lower. More defensive sectors outperformed, with Real Estate up +0.65%, Consumer Discretionary +0.59% and Health Care +0.16%. The Nasdaq -0.33%. PayPal Holdings Inc fell -4.34%, with analysts at Bernstein downgrading the company to “market perform”. Bernstein noted that PayPal has a reputation for disrupting the payments ecosystem, but it “now risks getting disrupted” itself and cited various competitive pressures for the digital payments giant (including the “increasing aggregation” of e-commerce activity on large platforms like Amazon.com Inc (up +0.21%) and Shopify Inc (down -2.25%). The small capitalisation Russell 2000 shed -1.16%.

US equity markets climbed, buoyed by a strong October retail sales report and better-than-expected third-quarter results from big box retailers Home Depot and Walmart - Dow added +55-points or +0.15% . The broader S&P500 rose +0.39%, with Consumer Discretionary (up +1.38%) and Information Technology (+1.07%) both gaining over >1%. Tesla Inc rebounded +4.08%. It was a strong session for electric vehicle (EV) companies more broadly, with EV start-up Lucid Group Inc soaring +23.71% after executives told investors that reservations for its first vehicles are up and 2022 production plans are still on track. That pushed its market cap to about US$89B, past that of Ford Motor Co (down -0.35%) but still far below Tesla’s, which hit $1 trillion this year. Elsewhere, Rivian Automotive Inc jumped +15.16% to see its market capitalisation climb above Volkswagen AG (+0.54%). Rivian’s value has doubled to US$153B since floating only last Wednesday (10 November).The Nasdaq gained +0.76%, with Qualcomm Inc jumping +7.89% after the wireless technology company issued bullish forecasts at an investor’s conference in New York and said that its growth doesn’t rely on a relationship with any single customer, such as its modem chip sales to Apple Inc (+0.67%). Qualcomm currently supplies wireless chips for Apple’s devices but said it expects to provide just 20% of the modem chips needed for the 2023 iPhone. “This company can no longer be defined by a single market and a single end-customer,” Qualcomm Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Cristiano Amon observed. The small capitalisation Russell 2000 edged +0.17% higher.

A muted start to the new trading week for US equity markets, with the benchmark indices little changed as Treasury yields climbed and investors eye quarterly reports from big retailers later in the week - Dow dipped -13-points or -0.04% . Boeing Co rose +5.49% following news that Saudi Arabian Airlines is in talks with Airbus SE (up +1.76%) and Boeing for a wide-body jet order. At the same time, Emirates announced an order for two Boeing 777 Freighters at the 2021 Dubai Airshow. The broader S&P500 unchanged, with Utilities (up +1.31%) and Energy (+0.79%) leading seven of the eleven primary sectors higher, while Health Care (down -0.64%) and Materials (-0.46%) were the worst performing primary sectors overnight. Tesla Inc (down -1.94% at US$1,013.39) continued to slide – and briefly fell below

US equity markets rallied but till logged their first weekly decline in six weeks amid heightened inflation concerns - Dow up +179-points or +0.50% to close at 36,100.31. Johnson & Johnson climbed +1.2% after the world’s largest healthcare company announced that it is splitting in two, breaking off its consumer health division (which is forecast to generate US$15B in sales this year) into a separate publicly traded company in 18-to-24 months time. It marked the latest in a wave of well-known global companies to announce plans to split up last week, following US industrial conglomerate General Electric Co (+0.55%) and Japan’s Toshiba, in an effort to slim down and focus on individual businesses. The broader S&P500 gained +0.72%. Tesla Inc fell -2.83% to extend its weekly decline to -15.4% - the electric vehicle company’s worst week in 20-months – as Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Elon Musk commenced with his plans to sell a huge block of his holding in the company. A Securities and Exchange Commission filling late last Wednesday (10 November) showed Mr Musk sold more than 4.5M shares for close to US$5B, and a further 1.2M shares worth more than US$1.2B on Friday (12 November). Mr Musk sold shares in part to satisfy tax obligations related to an exercise of stock options (he faces an August 2022 deadline to exercise more than 20M additional options or let them expire worthless. The Nasdaq rose +1.00%. Facebook-parent Meta Platforms Inc rallied +4.01%, while Apple Inc (+1.43%), Microsoft Corp (+1.29%) and Amazon.com Inc (+1.52%) each added more than >1%. The small capitalisation Russell 2000 added +0.11%.