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US equity markets rallied strongly ahead of the holiday weekend, with technology stocks leading the advance - Dow up +576-points or +1.7%, logging its straight day of gains of more than >500 points and rallying for a sixth straight day in its longest winning streak since December 2021. The 30-stock index was powered by gains for Salesforce Inc (up +1.63%), Apple Inc (+4.08%), Microsoft Corp (+2.76%) and International Business Machines (IBM) Corp (+1.74%). The broader S&P500 +2.47%, with Consumer Discretionary (up +3.47%) and Information Technology (+3.44%) climbing over >3% to lead all eleven primary sectors (over >1%) higher. The Nasdaq +3.33% to 12,131.13, the technology-centric indice’s first close above >12,000 since 6 May. The small capitalisation Russell 2000 +2.70%. US equity and bond markets are CLOSED tonight AEST for the Memorial Day holiday.

US equity markets rallied, buoyed by a batch of strong earnings from the retail sector boosted market sentiment - Dow extended gains into a fifth consecutive session (its longest winning streak since 18 March), up +516-points or +1.61%. Boeing Co (up +4.65%) and Nike Inc (+4.38%) were among the leading performers. The broader S&P500 +1.99%, with Consumer Discretionary (up +4.78%) leading ten of the eleven primary sectors higher. All of Information Technology (+2.45%), Financials (+2.25%) and Communication Services (+2.078%) also climbed over >2%. Real Estate (down -0.10%) was the only primary sector to settle in the red. The Nasdaq rallied +2.68%. Apple Inc advanced +2.32% after a report said the iPhone maker plans to keep production of its flagship item flat this year due to industry challenges. Apple also said it would lift hourly pay for U.S. workers by +45% from 2018 to US$22 per hour to compete in a tight labour market and amid pushes by some employees to unionise. Nvidia Corp recovered from earlier losses to settle +5.16% higher The small capitalisation Russell 2000 rose +2.17%. In merger and acquisition (M&A) news, Broadcom Inc (up +3.58%) confirmed it had reached a deal to acquire cloud computing company VMWare Inc (+3.17% at US$124.36) in a cash and scrip deal worth ~US$61B following speculation earlier this week. Under the terms of the agreement, VMware shareholders will choose to receive either US$142.50 per share in cash or 0.2520 a common share of Broadcom for each VMware share.

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US equity markets advanced as technology stocks rebounded and as investors digested minutes of the Federal Reserve's policy meeting in early May - Dow rose +192-points or +0.6%, booking a fourth consecutive session of gains. The broader S&P500 gained +0.95%, with Consumer Discretionary (up +2.78%) and Energy (+1.96%) leading nine of the eleven primary sectors higher. Utilities (down -0.06%) and Health Care (-0.02%) were the only primary sectors to settle in the red. The Nasdaq rebounded +1.51% a day after logging its lowest close since 3 November, 2020. Twitter Inc gained over >6% in after hours trading (after a +3.91% rise in the regular session) after a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) showed Tesla Inc (+4.88%) Chief Executive Elon Musk increased the amount of cash he is committing to the acquisition of the social media company by US$6.25B, with the rest funded by debt financing. The filing also stated that Mr Musk continues to negotiate with Twitter shareholders, including cofounder Jack Dorsey, in an attempt to convince them to remain as investors instead of cashing out. The small capitalisation Russell 2000 rose +1.95%. Kohl’s Corp jumped +11.89% after Reuters reported that bidders continue to circle the retailer at lower prices than earlier this year, but still well above recent trading levels of the stock.

Michael Knox talks us through US stocks, Australian stocks, and what a full-employment economy will be like.

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Technology stocks once again weighed on US equity markets - Dow added +48-points or +0.15%. McDonald’s Corp (up +2.74%), Verizon Communications Inc (+2.03%) and International Business Machines (IBM) Corp (+2.01%) all added more than 2%.The broader S&P500 lost -0.81%, with Communication Services (down -3.70%) and Consumer Discretionary (-2.58%) leading six of the eleven primary sectors lower. More defensive sectors outperformed overnight, with Utilities up +2.01%, Consumer Staples +1.66% and Real Estate +1.21%. The Nasdaq shed -2.28% to 11,264.45, logging its lowest close since 3 November, 2020 and extending its calendar year-to-date loss to -28%. The technology-centric index sits ~30% below its record 19 November, 2021 record closing high of 16,057.44. Snap Inc tumbled -43.08% after Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Evan Spiegel warned in a note to employees that emerged after the close of Monday’s (23 May) session that the company will miss its own targets for revenue and adjusted earnings in the current quarter, and will also slow hiring through the end of the year as it looks to manage expenses. Amazon.com Inc fell -3.21% to a fresh 52-week low (us$2,082.00), while Facebook Inc lost -7.62% and Google-parent Alphabet Inc -5.14%. Twitter Inc fell -5.55% to US$35.76, below the price at which Tesla Inc chief executive Elon Musk acquired his stake. According to a 13D filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission on 5 April, Mr Musk bought his 73.12M shares or 9.1% stake in the social media company at a weighted average price of US$36.157 per share. Twitter has fallen ~31.1% from its 25 April close of US$51.70, the day the company agreed to be acquired by Mr Musk for US$54.20 per share. The small capitalisation Russell 2000 lost -1.56%. Wendy's Co jumped 17% in after-hours trading after its largest shareholder, Trian Fund Management LP, said it is looking at potential transactions to acquire control of the fast-food restaurant chain. Trian Fund Management LP owns ~19.4% of the company, according to the filings.

US equity markets advanced - Dow rallied +618-points or +1.98%, logging its best single session gain since 4 May. JPMorgan Chase & Co gained +6.19% higher after the banking giant hosted an Investor Day and raised its net interest income outlook. In addition, JPMorgan forecast that it may hit its goal of a 17% return on tangible equity this year. Goldman Sachs Group Inc rose +3.2%. The broader S&P500 rose +1.86%, with Financials (up +3.23%) leading all eleven primary sectors higher. The Nasdaq gained +1.59%. It marked the best session for both the S&P500 and Nasdaq since 17 May. The small capitalisation Russell 2000 added +1.10%. VMware Inc soared +24.78% after The Wall Street Journal reported that Broadcom Inc (down -3.10%) was offering ~US$140 per share or ~US$60B in a cash-and-stock deal to acquire the enterprise cloud-computing software company. The report came on the heels of several other media reports over the weekend speculating a deal. Snap Inc slumped ~30% in after hours trading after Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Evan Spiegel warned in a note to employees that the company will miss its own targets for revenue and adjusted earnings in the current quarter. The social media company will also slow hiring through the end of the year as it looks to manage expenses, Mr Spiegel wrote. Part of the letter was filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

We discuss the key pre-election promises and what a Labor victory means for investors.

Read more election coverage here: https://morgans.com.au/Blog/2022/May/Federal-Election-2022-Change-of-Government-first-impressions

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#equities #federalelection #asx

A rally in the final hour of trading left US equity markets little changed on Friday (20 May) - Dow inched +9-points or +0.03% higher at 31,261.90, erasing an earlier decline of as much as -617 points. A close below 29,439.72 would put the blue-chip gauge in official bear market territory. The broader S&P500 eked out a +0.01% gain to settle at 3,901.36 after trading in official bear market territory earlier in last Friday’s (20 May) session. The index traded as low as 3,810.32 (down ~2.3%) ~20.9% the S&P500’s 3 January record closing high. Consumer Discretionary (down -1.53%) and Industrials (-1.07%) both fell over >1% to lead five of the eleven primary sectors lower. The more defensive sectors of Health Care (up +1.26%) and Real Estate (+1.19%) were the leading primary sectors last Friday (20 May), gaining over >1%. The Nasdaq slipped -0.30%. Applied Materials Inc fell -3.86% The small capitalisation Russell 2000 slipped -0.17%.

US equity markets logged back-to-back declines - Dow down -237-points or -0.75% , unwinding an earlier rally of as much as +300-points. Cisco Systems Inc tumbled -13.73% after the technology bellwether reported third quarter revenue that fell short of consensus expectations and cut its full year forecasts after the close of the previous session. The broader S&P500 -0.58% to sit 18.6% below its record closing high set in early January and ~19% below its most recent intra-day peak. Consumer Staples (-1.98%) and Information Technology (-1.07%) both fell over >1% to lead eight of the eleven primary sectors lower. Materials sat atop the primary sector leaderboard with a +0.68% rise. The Nasdaq -0.26%. The small capitalisation Russell 2000 inched +0.08% higher. Harley-Davidson Inc tumbled 9.29% after the motorcycle maker said it would suspend all assembly and shipments for two weeks. The company said the suspension was for "an abundance of caution" following information provided by a third-party supplier regarding "a regulatory compliance matter relating to the supplier's component part." In merger and acquisition (M&A) news, Spirit Airlines Inc (%) said its board has unanimously determined that JetBlue Airways Corp.’s (%) US$30-per-share cash offer isn’t in the best interest of the airline and its shareholders, urging the latter to reject the tender launched by JetBlue earlier this week. Spirit had already reiterated earlier in May its support for the merger deal with Frontier Group Holdings Inc (%), that it had agreed before JetBlue made its offer.