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US equity markets logged fresh falls, with the Nasdaq falling to its lowest level in two years as investors eye the latest inflation figures and corporate earnings releases later in the week - Dow fell -94-points or -0.32%, The broader S&P500 lost -0.75%, Energy (down -2.06%) and Information Technology (-1.56%) led seven of the eleven primary sectors lower. The technology centric Nasdaq retreated for a fourth consecutive session, down -1.04% at 10,542.10 and logging its lowest close since 28 July, 2020. Chipmakers were under fresh pressure following the Biden administration announcement of new export controls that limit U.S. companies selling advanced computing semiconductors and related manufacturing equipment to China. Advanced Micro Devices Inc fell -1.08% and Nvidia Corp -3.36%. PayPal Inc fell -6.27% after backtracking on a change to their acceptable use policy that would have fined users US$2,500 for spreading “misinformation”. The proposal prompted a backlash from account holders, politicians and corporate executives alike (including PayPal’s previous president, David Marcus, and Tesla Inc’s (-0.05%) Elon Musk).The small capitalisation Russell 2000 lost -0.60%.

US equity markets booked steep losses on Friday (7 October), with the decline accelerating in the final hour of the session as investors digested the latest jobs report, which is anticipated to reinforce the Federal Reserve’s resolve to keep tightening monetary policy - Dow fell -630-points or -2.11% to 29,296.79, touching an intra- session low of 29,142.66. The broader S&P500 shed -2.80%, with ~94% of index constituents settling in the red. Information Technology (down -4.14%) led all eleven primary sectors lower, with Consumer Discretionary (-3.54%), Communication Services (-2.84%) and Materials (-2.54%) all falling over >2.5%. Energy (down -0.72%) was yet again the best performing sector on a relative basis.

US equity markets retreated ahead of tonight’s AEST key jobs figures and as Treasury yields continued to climb - Dow fell -347-points or -1.15%, The broader S&P500 -1.02%, with Utilities (down -3.30%) and Real Estate (-3.20%) both dropping over >3% to lead ten of the eleven primary sectors lower. However, the Energy sector extended its relative outperformance into a fourth straight session, up +1.82%. The Nasdaq -0.68%. The small capitalisation Russell 2000 lost -0.58%.

No the RBA did not blink! Michael Knox, Morgans Chief Economist by Morgans Financial

US equity markets settled with modest losses despite a big reversal in the final hour of the trading session as Treasury yields resumed their march higher - Dow slipped -42-points or -0.14%, reversing an earlier decline of as much as -430-points. The broader S&P500 eased -0.20%, with Utilities (down -2.25%) and Real Estate (-1.90%) leading eight of the eleven primary sectors lower. Energy (up +2.06%) sat atop the primary sector leaderboard for a third straight session, with Exxon Mobil Corp rallying +4.04%. The Information Technology and Health Care sectors advanced +0.36% and +0.33% respectively. Cruise line stocks retreated after getting an initial boost from news that Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings Ltd (down -0.75%) will suspend all COVID-19 testing, masking and vaccination requirements from Tuesday next week (11 October). Carnival Corp fell -4.25%. The Nasdaq settled -0.25% lower. The small capitalisation Russell 2000 lost -0.74%.

US equity markets extended their strong start to the month and quarter - Dow rallied +825-points or +2.80%, with Boeing Co (up +5.92%) and Goldman Sachs Group Inc (+5.25%) alone contributing over >150-points in gains. The broader S&P500 jumped +3.06%, logging its best two-day gain (+5.65%) since April 2020. Energy (up +4.34%) led all eleven primary sectors higher for a second consecutive session, with Financials (+3.79%) and Consumer Discretionary (3.56%) both advancing over >3.5%. The rally comes after three straight quarters of declines for the S&P 500 - the longest quarterly losing streak since 2008. Exxon Mobil Corp estimates that changes in liquid prices will have a negative effect of between US$1.4B to US$1.8B in the third quarter compared with second-quarter results, according to a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The oil and gas company also forecast a favourable effect of US$1.8B to US$2.2B on results for the recent quarter due to changes in gas prices, compared with the second quarter. Exxon Mobil is slated to release its third quarter result on 28 October. The technology-centric Nasdaq climbed +3.32%. Tesla Inc settled +2.90% higher, pulling back from an earlier session rally of as much as +6.2% following the release of a letter filed with the SEC in which the electric vehicle maker's chief executive, Elon Musk, proposed moving forward with his acquisition of Twitter Inc (up +22.24%) on the original terms (including the US$54.20 per share bid price). Amazon.com Inc (up +4.50%) is implementing a hiring freeze on the corporate side of its retail business for the rest of the year, according to a New York Times report, becoming the latest company to pause hiring plans amid growing concerns about an economic downturn. Meta Platforms Inc (up +1.20%), which owns Facebook and Instagram, is reportedly planning to reduce its own headcount amid fears over what the economy might look like in the coming months. The small capitalisation Russell 2000 outperformed with a +3.91% gain. Some traders suggested some of last week’s selling pressure may have been driven by quarter-end rebalancing, which has now abated.

US equity markets opened the new month and quarter firmly on the front foot, with the benchmark indices rallying over >2% - Dow rallied +765-points or +2.66%, rising as much as +922 points at its session peak and recording its the biggest percentage gain since 24 June, according to Dow Jones Market Data. The broader S&P500 gained +2.59%, with Energy climbing +5.77% to lead all eleven primary sectors higher. Chevron Corp rose +5.61%, Exxon Mobil Corp +5.28%, Marathon Petroleum Corp +3.48%.

US equity markets retreated to cap their worst September performance since 2008 and logging their third straight quarterly decline as assertive Federal Reserve action pushed Treasury yields and the dollar higher- Dow dropped -500-points or -1.71% to 28,725.51, settling below

US equity markets resumed their slide, dragging the S&P500 to a fresh 2022 low amid a broad-based decline - Dow fell -458-points or -1.54%, having been down as much as -686-points at its session lows. The broader S&P500 dropped -2.11% to 3,640.47, logging its lowest close since 30 November, 2020. Utilities (down -4.07%) led all eleven primary sectors lower. Energy outperformed albeit the sector settled with a -0.13% decline. Occidental Petroleum Corp rose +1.14% after a Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) filing showed that Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway Inc (down -0.98%) bought another 6M shares, paying as much as US$61.37 per share and lifting their stake in the energy company to 20.9%. The Nasdaq shed -2.81%. Apple Inc – also a Dow component – fell -4.91% to US$142.48 - after Bank of America downgraded the stock to ‘neutral’ from ‘buy’ (cutting their price target to US$160 per share from US$185), noting that demand trends could worsen heading into the new fiscal year. Meta Platforms Inc fell -3.67% following a Bloomberg report that Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Mark Zuckerberg told staff that the social media and metaverse company is freezing hiring and will take steps to restructure the business. The report follows comments from Mr Zuckerberg on the company’s June quarter earnings call in which he said it was Meta’s plan “to steadily reduce headcount growth over the next year. Many teams are going to shrink so we can shift energy to other areas, and I wanted to give our leaders the ability to decide within their teams where to double down, where to backfill attrition, and where to restructure teams while minimizing thrash to the long term initiatives.” The small capitalisation Russell 2000 dropped -2.35%.

Jay Plays Tough: Michael Knox, Morgans Chief Economist by Morgans Financial