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The Dow and S&P500 snapped a six session losing streak, advancing for the first time since the Federal Reserve hiked interest rates again a week ago as Treasury yields retreated sharply and following a surprise intervention from the Bank of England (BoE) in the U.K. government bond market - Dow climbed +549-points or +1.88% to 29,683.74 a day after logging its lowest close since 12 November, 2020. The index settled 19.3% below its 4 January record close of 36,799.65. Apple Inc was the only Dow constituent not to advance, falling -1.27% after Bloomberg News reported that the company is dropping plans to boost production of its latest iPhones this year as a surge in demand failed to materialize. Citing sources familiar with the matter, Bloomberg said suppliers have been told to pull back from efforts to ramp up assembly of about 6M iPhone 14 units, settling on a goal of producing ~90M iPhone 14s by the end of the year, about the same as iPhone 13 production last year, and in line with an outlook that Bloomberg reported in August. Bloomberg added that sources said demand for the higher-priced iPhone Pro model was stronger than for the lower-priced models. Bloomberg had earlier reported that iPhone 14 sales were off to a sluggish start in China, down ~11% than comparable sales of the iPhone 13 last year. Home Depot Inc (up +5.02%) was the leading Dow performer, while Boeing Co (up +4.65%) and Caterpillar Inc (+3.28%) also traded strongly. The broader S&P500 gained +1.97%, snapping its longest losing streak since February 2020 and rebounding from its lowest settlement since 30 November, 2020. Energy (up +4.40%) at atop the primary sector leaderboard for a second straight session and led all eleven primary sectors higher. Chevron Corp rose +3.38% and Exxon Mobil Corp +3.64% and Occidental Petroleum Corp +4.92%. The technology-centric Nasdaq rallied +2.02%. The small capitalisation Russell 2000 jumped +3.17%.

The Dow and S&P500 extended declines into a sixth consecutive session overnight - Dow fell -126-points or -0.43% to 29,134.99, a day after entering official bear market territory for the first time in more than two years (down over >20% from its record close on 4 January). The index briefly slid below 1.5% to lead seven of the eleven primary sectors. Energy sat atop of the primary sector leaderboard with a +1.16% gain. The Nasdaq added +0.25% and remains the only one of the three main indices that hasn’t fallen below its June lows (albeit all three benchmark indices are in official bear market territory). The small capitalisation Russell 2000 gained +0.40%.

US equity markets retreated, pushing the Dow into official bear market territory for the first time in more than two years amid further volatility in bond and currency markets

US equity markets continued to slide on Friday (23 September), capping a tumultuous week dominated by hawkish central bank updates that exerted particular pressure on growth stocks - Dow fell -486-points or -1.62% to 29,590.41, carving out a fresh 2022 closing low despite paring an earlier decline of as much as -826-points, and settling at its lowest level since 20 November, 2020. It also marked the first close below 2%. Ford Motor Co fell -3.60% after The Wall Street Journal reported the company had delayed delivery of some vehicles because it didn’t have enough blue oval badges to put on them. This followed the automaker’s warning last Monday (19 September) that it would end the third quarter with more unfinished vehicles than it had previously expected. The Nasdaq declined -1.80%. Google-parent Alphabet Inc fell -1.40% after CNBC reported that Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Sundar Pichai faced heated questions from employees at an all-hands meeting last week, with staffers expressing concern about cost cuts and recent comments from Pichai regarding the need to improve productivity by 20%. The small capitalisation Russell 2000 lost -2.48%.

US equity markets retreated amid mounting concerns that the Federal Reserve’s aggressive monetary policy will tip the economy into a recession - Dow fell -107-points or -0.35%. Salesforce Inc rose +1.71% after the customer relationship management software company hosted an Investor Day, reiterating the fiscal 2023 revenue outlook of ~US$31B, after the company cut the outlook in May (to a range of US$31.7B-to-US$31.8B from US$32.0-to-US$32.1B in March), and lowered it again in August (to US$30.9B- to-US$31.0b). Boeing Co edged ~% higher in after-hours trading (following a -3.20% decline in regular trading) after The Wall Street Journal reported that the aerospace and defence company was seen "poised" to settle a U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) investigation into its 737 Max crashes a few years back. The settlement pertains to "allegedly misleading statements" from the company and then-Chief Executive Dennis Muilenburg about the jets that crashed in Indonesia in 2018 and Ethiopia in 2019, the newspaper said, citing people familiar with the matter. The broader S&P500 -0.84%, with the Consumer Discretionary sector (down -2.16%) leading nine of the eleven primary sectors lower. Health Care (up +0.51%) and Communication Services (+0.06%) were the only primary sectors to advance overnioght. The Nasdaq -1.37%. The small capitalisation Russell 2000 lost -2.26%.

US equity markets retreated as Treasury yields continued to climb on the eve of the Federal Reserve’s latest interest rate decision - Dow down -313-points or -1.01%, falling as much as -550-points earlier in the session. The broader S&P500 fell -1.13%, with Real Estate (down -2.57%) and Materials (-1.90%) leading all eleven primary sectors lower. Ford Motor Co tumbled -12.32% to log its worst single session drop since 2011 after the automaker told investors after the close of the previous session that it saw a +US$1B increase in supply chain costs during the third quarter. General Motors Co fell -5.63%. The Nasdaq -0.95%. Apple Inc rose +1.57% after announcing price rises for the app store in a number of Asian and European countries, likely a response to the surge in the U.S. dollar. Nvidia Corp (down -1.54%) hosted their GPU Technology Conference overnight and said that the launch of its next generation of gaming cards is well positioned. The RTX 4090 Gaming chips using the company’s next-generation “Ada Lovelace” architecture, said to perform up to four times faster than its previous generation RTX 3090 Ti, will be available on 12 October for a suggested retail price of US$1,599. Following the keynote address, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Jensen Huang told analysts that while gaming end markets are soft, they’re not so soft that Nvidia won’t be able to sell excess inventory it has in the channel. The Dow Jones Transport Average, viewed as a barometer of economic health, dropped -2.27% to a near 19-month low, with all 20 components retreating. The small capitalisation Russell 2000 lost -1.40%.

US equity markets logged modest gains ahead of the Federal Reserve kicking off their latest two day monetary policy meeting tonight AEST - Dow up +197-points or +0.64%, recovering from an earlier session decline of as much as -263-points. The broader S&P500 added +0.69%, with Materials (up +1.63%), Consumer Discretionary (+1.34%), Industrials (+1.33%), Utilities (+1.32%) and Financials (+1.12%) all rebounded over >1% to lead nine of the eleven primary sectors higher. Healthcare (down -0.54%) and Real Estate (-0.21%) were the only primary sectors to close in the red. Vaccine manufacturers Pfizer Inc (-1.28%), Moderna Inc (down -7.14%), BioNTech SE (-8.60%) and Novavax Inc (-6.51%) all declined a day after President Joe Biden said in a CBS interview that "the pandemic is over". Ford Motor Co fell over >4% in extended trading after the automaker told investors it saw a +US$1B increase in supply chain costs during the third quarter. Ford reiterated its full-year guidance for adjusted earnings before interest and taxes (EBIT) of between US$11.5B and US$12.5B. The company is slated to release its third quarter result on 26 October. The Nasdaq rose +0.76%. Chipmaker Nvidia Corp (up +1.39%) hosts a GTC Financial Analyst Q&A tonight AEST. The small capitalisation Russell 2000 gained +0.81%.

•US equity markets retreated to two-month lows on Friday (16 September) to cap a tough week for stocks amid ongoing inflation concerns, looming further interest rate hikes and some fresh warning signs about economic growth - Dow fell -139-points or -0.45%, paring an earlier decline of as much as -412 points. Goldman Sachs Group Inc's fell -1.63%, with Bloomberg Law reporting that the company’s consumer banking unit is being reviewed by the Federal Reserve, citing people familiar with the matter. Goldman's management has been subjected to questions and follow-ups from the central bank's officials for several weeks, the report said, adding that the process was still ongoing. The broader S&P500 -0.72%, with Energy (down -2.17%) and Industrials (-2.06%) leading all eleven primary sectors lower. FedEx Corp tumbled -21.4% the shipments company and economic bellwether withdrew its full year financial forecast after the close of last Thursday’s (15 September) session, blaming an acceleration in a global demand slowdown. The company also said it will implement cost-cutting initiatives to contend with soft global shipment volumes as “macroeconomic trends significantly worsened.” FedEx Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Raj Subramaniam told CNBC late Thursday (15 September) that the global economy was likely headed for a recession. United Parcel Service Inc fell -4.48%. Home Depot Inc’s (up +1.63%) CEO Ted Decker told CNBC on Friday (16 September) that “Our consumer, our customer, pro and DIY have been resilient,” responding to questioning about whether he has seen the same signs of recession that FedEx CEO Raj Subramaniam had warned of a day earlier. Mr Decker further observed that “Our customer tends to have strong income. They tend to be homeowners. And guess what, they’re spending more time in that home, and that home’s aging,” adding that “We couldn’t be more bullish.” General Electric Co fell -3.7% after the company’s chief financial officer (CFO) Carolina Happe said at a Morgan Stanley investor conference that persistent supply-chain pressures were putting the conglomerate’s cash flow under pressure. The Nasdaq fell -0.90%. The small capitalisation Russell 2000 lost -1.48%. The Dow Jones Transport Average, viewed as a barometer of economic health, dropped -5.07%.

US equity markets retreated, extending losses in the afternoon session as a slew of economic data failed to alter expectations for further aggressive monetary policy tightening - Dow fell -173-points or -0.56%, The broader S&P500 lost -1.13% but held just above >3,900, with Energy (down -2.54%), Utilities (-2.53%), Information Technology (-2.37%) and Real Estate (-2.24%) all declining over >2% to lead nine of the eleven primary sectors lower. The Biden administration helped broker a tentative deal with unions to avert a strike, thereby avoiding a rail shutdown which would add to supply-chain pressures at the core of hot inflation. Union Pacific Corp added +0.19%. The Nasdaq shed -1.42%, with Amazon.com Inc (down -1.77%), Apple Inc (-1.89%), and Microsoft Corp (-2.71%) notable drags on the technology centric index. The small capitalisation Russell 2000 lost -0.72%.
•FedEx Corp slumped over >16% in extended trading the shipments company and economic bellwether withdrew its full-year guidance, and said it will implement cost-cutting initiatives to contend with soft global shipment volumes as “macroeconomic trends significantly worsened.” The company said it is closing 90 office locations, shut down five corporate office facilities and pause hiring efforts, as part of those cost-cutting measures. In its preliminary results, FedEx reported earnings per share (EPS) of US$3.33 per share in its first quarter, down -19% from a year ago and well below the US$5.14 per share Wall Street expected. Revenue increased +5% from a year ago to $23.2bn but was slightly below analysts’ forecast for US$23.6B. The company said it expects business conditions to further weaken in the current quarter and forecast revenue to be in the range of US$23.5B to US$24B, with EPS of US$2.65 “or greater”. That compares to current Wall Street expectations for revenue of US$24.9B and EPS of $5.39. FedEx is slated to release its first quarter result on Thursday next week (22 September).

US equity markets settled with modest gains after a choppy session, steadying after a hotter-than-expected August consumer price inflation (CPI) saw the benchmark indices record their worst single session declines since Jun 2020 in the previous session - Dow edged +30-points or +0.10% higher, recovering from an earlier slide of as much as 200-points. The broader S&P500 added +0.34%, with Energy (up +2.85%) leading six of the eleven primary sectors higher. Real Estate (down -1.39%) and Materials (-1.23%) both declined over >1% to sit at the foot of the primary sector leaderboard. Lithium miner Albemarle Corp (up +3.01%), spun off from Ethyl Corp. in 1994, touched an all-time high (US$308.24). Verizon Communications Inc (down -1.13%) signalled another weak quarter in terms of new subscribers, due in part to price hikes earlier this year. Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Hans Vestberg, speaking at Goldman Sachs Group Inc.’s media and telecom conference, said that the price increases have caused a “churn bubble” in the current quarter. Intel Corp (down -0.38%) and Walgreens Boots Alliance Inc (+0.09%) were among stocks hitting 52-week lows. Railroad operators Union Pacific Corp (down -3.69%) and CSX Corp (-1.05%) declined amid concern about a potential national railroad strike The Nasdaq gained +0.74%. The small capitalisation Russell 2000 rose +0.38%.