US markets rallied on Friday night as US oil prices rose above >US$50/barrel for the first time in over a month and as the political noise out of Washington died down after a week of controversy that sparked the first real volatility on Wall Street in months - Dow up +142-points or +0.69%, S&P500 +0.68% (with all sectors advancing), NASDAQ +0.47%. All three benchmark indices ended with weekly losses following a mid-week slump, with the Dow down -0.44%, S&P500 -0.38% and the Nasdaq -0.61%. President Trump embarked on his first foreign trip since taking office, with the 9-day trip to include stops in Saudi Arabia, Israel, the Vatican and ending with a North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) meeting in Belgium.

Some solid economic data helped US markets rebound after their worst trading session of 2017 - Dow added +56-points or 0.27%, S&P500 +0.37%, NASDAQ +0.73%.

Suncorp Group CEO and Managing Director Michael Cameron gave an insightful presentation at this month's Morgans Business Breakfast. He spoke about the need for resilience and the ability to adapt:

"Think about how much has occurred in the last 12 months and think about the speed of change and just acknowledge that the pace of change that is happening at the moment will never be this slow again. Where will that take us? How will companies reinvent themselves quick enough to prosper and grow into the future?

"Suncorp is reimagining themselves in terms of financial services. When we talk about change, we want to ensure that we are well-equipped and have the right culture and the right people to be able to navigate ourselves and our customers through the journey."

US equity markets fell sharply, jolted by a series of damaging revelations around President Trump including allegations that he disclosed classified information to Russian officials and reports that he pressed former Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) Director James Comey to drop a probe into former National Security Adviser Michael Flynn - Dow tumbled -373-points or -1.78% and the broader S&P500 -1.82% (it's worst one-day fall since September 9, with the Financial sector down -3.1% heading the declines). The technology-centric NASDAQ slumped -2.57%, its steepest single-session decline since the day after Britain voted to exit the European Union (June 24, 2016). Former FBI Director Comey is set to address a congressional committee on Wednesday next week (May 24) hence there may be a few more days uncertainty yet. I note one investment bank has - perhaps prematurely - coined the phrase "James and the Giant Impeachment" to describe unfolding events in Washington.

We go through the components of the Trump Tax plan and what each will cost. We identify the components that we think will make it into law before the US midterm elections in 2018.

A mixed session on Wall Street, with the benchmark indices little changed as investors remained largely impervious to the latest political noise out of Washington and allegations that President Trump shared sensitive information with Russia - Dow slipped -2-points and the broader S&P500 -0.07% (touching a fresh intra-day all-time high - 2,405.77 - earlier in the session). The technology-centric NASDAQ +0.11% continued its outperformance with a +0.33% gain to yet another record high. It was another tough session for retail stocks however Home Depot (up +%) bucked the trend after posting a strong quarterly result and projected a solid full-year outlook. Etsy soared +% after private equity group TPG and Dragoneer Investment Group acquired an 8% stake in the on-line marketplace and said they had offered to help the company explore strategic alternatives (could be positive for ASX-listed Redbubble Ltd (RBL)).

Fresh record highs for both the S&P500 and Nasdaq to open the week on US markets, with basic resources and energy leading the benchmark indices higher - Dow rallied +85-points or 0.41% and the broader S&P500 +0.48% (closing above >2,400). The technology-centric NASDAQ +0.46% higher, with cybersecurity companies were on the upswing. Exchange traded fund (ETF) HACK.US - which provides exposure to cybersecurity companies - surged over >33% amid the worldwide "ransomware" onslaught.

Another tough day for the retail sector left the Dow and S&P500 with small losses on Friday and saw both indices snap a 3-week winning streak - Dow eased -23-points or -0.11% (to be -0.52% lower for the week) and the broader S&P500 -0.15% (for a weekly decline of -0.35%). The technology-centric NASDAQ inched +0.09% higher and posted its fourth consecutive weekly gain (adding +0.34%). In stock-specific news, J.C. Penney and Nordstrom tumbled after disappointing first-quarter results to cap a tough week for the retail sector (after both Macy's and Kohl's also disappointed the market with their quarterly numbers earlier in the week).

The US First Quarter GDP came in at a surprisingly low 0.7%. Does this mean the US Federal Reserve won't tighten rates in June?

In this bulletin: Benchmark US indices retreated from record highs albeit closed well off their lowest levels of the session - Dow down -24-points or -0.11% (off session lows that saw the index down ~145-points at its worst levels) and the broader S&P500 -0.22% (with Consumer Discretionary leading eight sectors lower after a weak quarterly result from Macy's).