8 MAY 2024

8 MAY 2024 · US equity markets advanced, building on last Friday’s (3 May) strong gains - Dow extended gains into a fourth straight session, up +177-points or +0.46%. Walt Disney Co (up +2.47%) was the leading performer in the 30-stock index ahead of the release of its fiscal second quarter result tonight AEST. Apple Inc fell -0.91% following news over the weekend that Berkshire Hathaway Inc, the largest shareholder in the iPhone maker, had reduced its stake in the company by ~13% (albeit it still comfortably remains the investment conglomerate’s largest position). The company hosts a product launch event tonight AEST called ‘Let Loose’ (with some expecting the release of a new iPad tablet). Meanwhile, iPhone manufacturer Foxconn - which trades as Hon Hai Precision Industry in Taiwan – jumped +7.37% and hit a record intra-day high (NT$168.50) after the company reported a 19.03% year-on-year rise in April revenue (to 510.9B New Taiwan dollars). The company said that its component business, as well as its cloud and networking products “delivered strong growth,” while its smart consumer electronics and computing products segment “showed significant year on year growth in revenue.”

5 MAY 2024 · US equity markets rallied on Friday (3 May) after the latest jobs data printed weaker-than-expected for the first time in four months, with all three benchmark indices rising over >1% on the same day for the first time since 22 February  - Dow rallied +450-points or +1.18%. Apple Inc gained +5.98%, with the iPhone maker logging its best single session gain since 30 November, 2022 after unveiling stronger-than-expected fiscal second quarter result after the close of the previous session that included a record US$110B share buyback programme. Amgen Inc +11.82% - its best single session advance since 2009 - after the biopharmaceutical giant posted quarterly earnings that came in ahead of expectations and provided a positive update about trials of its injectable weight-loss drug MariTide after the close of last Thursday’s (2 May) session.

3 MAY 2024 · US equity markets rallied ahead of the key jobs report for April tonight AEST and in the wake of the Federal Reserve’s latest monetary policy meeting - Dow gained +363-points or +0.96%. Boeing Co (up +4.31%) and Amazon.com Inc (+3.20%) were the leading performers in the 30-stock index. 

1 MAY 2024 · US equity markets retreated overnight, reversing earlier gains as investors digested the latest monetary policy announcements from the Federal Reserve - Dow added +87-points or +0.2%, unwinding an earlier rally of over >500-points. Amazon.com Inc climbed +2.17% after reporting better-than-expected first-quarter earnings after the close of the previous session, underpinned by growth in its cloud computing and advertising businesses. Johnson & Johnson rose +4.56% after proposing a US$6.5B settlement that would resolve nearly all outstanding talc ovarian cancer lawsuits it faces.

30 APR 2024 · US equity markets retreated, extending losses in the final hour of trading as wage growth data dealt another blow to the Federal Reserve in its fight against inflation ahead of the central bank concluding its two-day monetary policy meeting tomorrow morning AEST - Dow fell -570-points or -1.49%, the largest one-day percentage decline for the 30-stock index since March 22, 2023. Economic bellwether Caterpillar Inc dropped -4.35%, while Boeing Co (-3.26%), Chevron Corp (-3.04%) and Microsoft Corp (-3.21%) fell over >3%. Walmart Inc fell -1.48% after announcing it was abandoning its push into low-cost health centres amid mounting costs.

29 APR 2024 · US equity markets advanced, building on last week’s rally ahead of the busiest week on the US first quarter earnings calendar and employment data and the Federal Reserve’s latest monetary policy meeting - Dow added +146-points or +0.38%. Boeing Co rose +3.75% amid reports it had tapped the bond market to raise US$10B after last week reporting it burned through nearly $4 billion in cash in the first quarter.

28 APR 2024 · US equity markets rallied on Friday (26 April), shrugging off fresh evidence of sticky inflation as investors cheered strong earnings from technology majors - Dow rose+153-points or +0.4%. Amazon.com Inc (up +3.43%) was the leading performer in the 30-stock index, buoyed by strong first quarter results from artificial intelligence (AI) hyperscaler peers, including Microsoft Corp (+1.82%). Goldman Sachs Group Inc rose +1.79% to US$427.57,  touched a record all-time high of US$428.53.

26 APR 2024 · US equity markets retreated, paring earlier steeper losses as investors digested the latest economic growth data and another swathe of major corporate earnings releases  - Dow fell -375-points or 0.98% (after slipping -43-points or 0.11% on Wednesday (24 April)). International Business Machines (IBM) Corp shed -8.25% after the hardware, software and consulting provider reported softer-than-expected first quarter revenue (up +1.5% year-on-year at US$14.46B versus consensus US$14.55B) after the close of the previous session and confirmed earlier media speculation in announcing that it was acquiring cloud software maker HashiCorp Inc (up +4.49% at US$32.82) in a deal with an enterprise value of US$6.4B (paying US$35 per share).

23 APR 2024 · US equity markets rallied as investors poured over another busy corporate earnings calendar - Dow extended gains into a fourth consecutive session, rising +264-points or +0.69% to book its longest winning streak since 21 March. Verizon Communications Inc rebounded +2.85% after dropping -4.67% a day earlier following the release of the telecommunications giant’s first quarter result. American Express Co gained +2.56%.