Morgans Financial Limited

Morgans AM: Tuesday, 4 June 2024 by Morgans Financial

US equity markets advanced to cap another strong month - Dow rallied +575-points or +1.51%. Salesforce Inc rebounded +7.54% after slumping almost 20% a day earlier after the cloud client relationship management software group provided weaker-than-expected fiscal second quarter and full year guidance. Consumer brands that have been struggling with sticky inflation and under pressure consumers also traded strongly, with McDonald’s Corp up +2.71%, Home Depot Inc +1.73% and Coca-Cola Co +1.55%.

US equity markets - Dow fell -330-points or 0.86%. Salesforce Inc slumped over >19.74% in extended trading after the cloud client relationship management software group provided weaker-than-expected fiscal second quarter and full year guidance after the close of the previous session. Technology giants Microsoft Corp (down -3.38%) and Amazon.com Inc (-1.48%) were weaker amid a broader sell-off for the sector. Verizon Communications Inc rose +3.15% after being awarded a 10-year U.S. Navy contract valued at more than >US$2.6B. The broader S&P500 lost -0.60%, with the losses concentrated in the Information Technology sector (down -2.45%). Nine of the elven primary sectors advanced, with Real Estate (up +1.51%) and Utilities (+1.41%) rising over >1%.

US equity markets retreated, led lower by declines in rate-sensitive sectors as concerns around the timing and the scale of the Federal Reserve's interest rate cuts pushed Treasury yields higher and pressured risk assets - Dow dropped -411-points or -1.06%. Unitedhealth Group Inc dropped -3.76% after Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Andrew Witty said at the Bernstein 40th Annual Strategic Decisions Conference in New York that he expected some “disturbance” in the company’s Medicaid profitability models from the resumption of eligibility reviews following the lifting of the COVID-19 emergency declaration.

US equity markets resumed trading on a mixed note following the Memorial Day long weekend, although Nvidia Corp continued to power ahead and push the Nasdaq to fresh record highs - Dow fell -217-points or -0.55%, paring an earlier decline of over >300-points. Healthcare names led the 30-stock index lower, with Merck & Co down -2.63%, Amgen Inc -1.85% and Johnson & Johnson -1.76%. Just seven stocks in the Dow finished in positive territory. Chevron Corp rose +0.82% after its US$53B acquisition of Hess Corporation (+0.44%) was approved by the target’s shareholders.

US equity markets and bond markets were CLOSED overnight for Memorial Day. In US economic data, the S&P Core Logic Case-Shiller Home Price for March, the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) House Price Index for March, the Conference Board’s Consumer Confidence survey for May, and the Dallas Fed Manufacturing Index for May are released tonight AEST.

US equity markets advanced ahead of the Memorial Day long weekend, with the Nvidia Corp (up 2.57%) lifting technology-centric Nasdaq to a fresh record peak - Dow inched +4-points or +0.01% higher, with Intel Corp (up +2.13%) and Apple Inc (+1.66%) the leading performers. Salesforce Inc fell -2.25% after enterprise software peer Workday Inc (down -15.33%) forecast softer-than-expected current-quarter subscription revenue.

US equity markets retreated, reversing earlier gains as the latest ‘flash’ purchasing managers indices (PMIs) fuelled fresh interest rate concerns and overshadowed a renewed rally for chipmaking giant Nvidia Corp - Dow dropped -606-points or -1.53%, marking the largest daily percentage decline since 22 March and with all of the 30-stock index’s components settling in the red. Boeing Co shed -7.55% after Chief Financial Officer (CFO) Brian West addressed an investor conference in New York and warned investors that the company’s second-quarter cash burn could match or be worse than the first quarter’s US$3.9B burn and that production struggles are likely to continue in the current quarter. Moreover, Boeing is unlikely to see positive cash flow this year. The comments came after Boeing undertook a US$10B corporate-debt issuance in late April. Intel Corp fell -426%, while Johnson & Johnson (-2.48%), McDonald’s Corp (-2.95%) and Walt Disney Co (-2.29%) all fell over >2%.

Morgans AM: Thursday, 23 May 2024 by Morgans Financial

US equity markets ticked higher as investors digested results from retailers and eyed the released of semi-conductor giant Nvidia Corp’s (up +0.64%) first quarter result after the closing bell tonight AEST - Dow edged +66-points or +0.17% higher. International Business Machines (IBM) Corp rose +2.09%after it said it was expanding several artificial intelligence (AI) partnerships with companies including Meta Platforms Inc (down -0.90%) and Salesforce Inc (-1.15%). Microsoft Corp added +0.87% to US$429.04 to close just cents shy of a record high after it unveiled new tools to develop AI software during the first day of its Microsoft Build developer conference.

US equity markets mostly firmer to open the week, with technology stocks underpinning the gains - Dow fell -197-points or -0.49%. JPMorgan Chase & Co dropped -4.50% after Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Jamie Dimon hinted during the bank’s annual investment meeting that he was preparing to retire after nearly 20 years at the helm of America's largest bank. Mr Dimon also said the bank would not repurchase shares at their current levels. Microsoft Corp gained 1.22% after the technology giant unveiled a new line of personal computers equipped with artificial-intelligence (AI) chips and the company’s CoPilot AI software.

US equity markets settled with modest gains on Friday (17 May), with the Dow closing above the 40,000 mark for the first time - Dow rallied +134-points or +0.34% to 40,003.59 a day after briefly topping the 40,000 mark for the first time in its 128-year history. It has taken 874 trading days for the 30-stock index to climb from 30,000 (which it steeled above on 24 November, 2020) to 40,000.

US equity markets settled with modest declines a day after all three (3) benchmark indices logged record closing highs - Dow slipped -39-points or -0.10% to 39,869.38, briefly topping >40,000 for the time earlier in the session. American Express Co (-0.16%) and Amazon.com Inc (-1.27%) are the two top performing Dow stocks so far this year, up +28.81% and +20.86% respectively year-to-date. However, given the Dow is a price-weighted average it’s Caterpillar Inc (down -2.59%) and Goldman Sach Group Inc (-0.34%) that have been the biggest points contributors to the 30-stock index this year to date.

All three (3) benchmark US equity indices rallied to record highs, with investor sentiment buoyed by the first cooler-than-expected consumer inflation print in four months accompanied by softer retail sales in April - Dow climbed +350-points or +0.88% to 39,908.00, settling with its 18th record close of 2024. Salesforce Inc (up +3.88%) was the leading performer in the 30-stock index, while Amgen Inc (+2.45%), Home Depot Inc (+2.4%) and Merck & Co Inc (+2.39%) climbed ~2.5%. On the downside, Walt Disney Co fell 2.45% after Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Bob Iger said the company had invested too much in its streaming service and was taking steps to address enduring profitability challenges. Boeing Co fell 2.09% after the Department of Justice said the jet maker had violated a 2021 settlement stemming from two fatal 737 crashes.

US equity markets advanced, shrugging off stronger-than-expected wholesale inflation data and with investors’ focus now turning to the latest consumer price inflation figures tonight AEST - Dow rose +127-points or +0.32%. Boeing Co rose +1.30% despite delivering fewer jets in April amid quality problems that forced a slowdown in production. The company reported that it shipped 24 jets in April (including 16 737 MAX jets), down from a total of 29 jets in March (including 24 MAX jets). In April 2023, Boeing delivered 26 jets, including 17 MAX jets. Thus far in 2024, Boeing has delivered 107 jets, including 82 MAX jets. That compares with 156 jets in the first four months of 2023, including 128 MAX jets. Intel Corp (up +1.77%), American Express Co (+1.21%) and JP Morgan Chase & Co (+1.4%) also all rose over >1%.

US equity markets mixed following a session absent any major news or data, and with investors eyeing the latest round of inflation figures - Dow eased -81-points or -0.21%, snapping an eight session winning streak. Intel Corp rose +2.21% after The Wall Street Journal reported that the company is in talks with Apollo Global Management about providing US$11B in funds to help the chipmaker build a plant in Ireland.

US equity markets advanced although investor sentiment was kept in check after consumer sentiment data (including inflation expectations) deteriorated and ahead of inflation data later this week - Dow rose +125-points or +0.32%, booking an eighth consecutive session advance and best weekly performance of 2024 to date. Goldman Sachs Group Inc settled -0.18% lower after touching a record intra-day high of US$458.75. The broader S&P500 added +0.16%, with Consumer Staples (up +0.64%), Information Technology (+0.48%) and Financials (+0.46%) the leading primary sector performers on Friday (10 May). Consumer Discretionary (down -0.61%) and Energy (-0.55%) were the laggards. The Nasdaq dipped -0.03%. The small capitalisation Russell 2000 lost -0.67%.

US equity markets advanced as the latest weekly jobless claims figures fuelled fresh optimism around Federal Reserve interest rate cuts - Dow rallied +331-points or +0.85% to 39,387.76 to book its seventh consecutive session advance and highest close since 1 April. The 30-stock index also settled within 1.1% of its 28 March record closing high (39,807.37). Home Depot Inc (up +2.54%) and Caterpillar Inc (+2.11%) climbed over >2% to be the leading index components overnight.

US equity markets were mixed following a subdued session - Dow sealed its sixth consecutive session advance, rising +172-points or +0.44% to 39,056.39 to book its longest winning streak since the period that ended on 19 December (when the index rose for nine straight trading days). It also marked the first time that the 30-stock index closed above >39,000 since 3 April.

Morgans Chief Economist Michael Knox says that for the RBA to get inflation down to 2.5%, unemployment must rise above 4.5% in Australia. Check out more from Morgans: Visit the Morgans website: www.morgans.com.au Check out our latest articles: https://morgans.com.au/insights On Facebook: www.facebook.com/MorgansAU On Instagram: www.instagram.com/Morgans.Australia On Twitter: twitter.com/MorgansAU