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US equity markets logged their first back-to-back losses in two weeks following some hawkish commentary from Federal Reserve officials - Dow dipped -8-points, The broader S&P500 -0.31%, with Utilities (down -1.79%) and Consumer Discretionary (-1.27%) leading eight of the eleven primary sectors lower. Information Technology sat atop the primary sector leaderboard with a +0.21% rise. General Motors (up +0.17%) hosted its annual investor day and raised its full year guidance, noting it expects its electric vehicle (EV) portfolio in North American to be profitable in a couple of years as it ramps up EV capacity in the region to more than 1>M EVs per year. The automaker projected full year adjusted earnings before interest and tax (EBIT) will be in a range between US$13.5B and US$14.5B compared to a prior guidance of US$13B and US$15B. The Nasdaq -0.35%. Cisco Systems Inc gained +4.96% after the networking-technology company delivered better-than-expected numbers on the top and bottom line, accompanied by encouraging guidance after the close of the previous session. The small capitalisation Russell 2000 lost -0.76%.

US equity markets retreated after a choppy session, with investors parsing the latest earnings results from retailers - Dow slipped -39-points or -0.12%, The broader S&P500 fell -0.83%, with Energy (down -2.15%), Consumer Discretionary (-1.46%) and Information Technology (-1.45%) all fell over >1.5% to lead nine of the eleven primary sectors lower. The more defensive Utilities (up +0.87%) and Consumer Staples (+0.46%) were the only primary sectors to advance. The Nasdaq -1.52%. The small capitalisation Russell 2000 lost -0.49%.

Back in September, we said the ASX 200 would rally as we came into October and November. Now we can again say why.

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Morgans AM: Wednesday, 16 November 2022 by Morgans Financial

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%.

Research Analyst Max Vickerson updates us as Brookfield and EIG have launched an indicative, all-cash, takeover bid for Origin Energy (ASX:ORG) at $9ps which the board will recommend following a due diligence period.

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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%.

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%.

Morgans Chief Economist Michael Knox thinks the FED funds rate will peak at 5.35% in March 2023. Meanwhile, the RBA continues to slowly follow the FED.

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