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US equity markets advanced as investors shrugged off President Trump’s removal of Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook from the central bank’s board and eyed Nvidia Corp’s (+1.09%) second quarter result after the closing bell of tonight’s AEST session - Dow rose +136-points or +0.30%. Boeing Co (up +3.51%) was the leading performer in the 30-stock index following news that Korean Air ordered 103 of the planemaker's passenger jets.

US equity markets retreated, failing to sustain the Federal Reserve fuelled momentum of late last week - Dow fell -349-points or -0.77% to 45,282.47 after logging its first record closing high (45,631.74) since 4 December last Friday (22 August). Merck & Co Inc (down -2.36%) was the worst performer in the 30-stock index. Nvidia Corp +1.02% and was one of just three Dow components to advance overnight, with investors continuing to eye the chip giant’s second quarter result on Wednesday night AEST (27 August).

US equity markets rebounded strongly on Friday (22 August) after Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell hinted at a near-term interest-rate cut during his Jackson Hole Economic Policy Symposium speech - Dow rallied +846-points or +1.89% to a record closing high of 45,631.74, marking the 30-stock indice’s first record close since 4 December last year. Caterpillar Inc (+4.25) was the leading Dow component, while American Express Co (+3.57%), Goldman Sachs Group Inc (+3.62%), and Home Depot Inc (+3.79%) all gained over >3.5%. Nvidia Corp (+1.72%) has told suppliers to suspend production of its H20 chip, according to toa report by The Information citing unnamed sources, after Beijing asked local firms to avoid using the chip tailored for the Chinese market due to security concerns. Reuters separately reported that Nvidia had asked Foxconn to suspend work related to the H20 chips.

US equity markets declined amid a further rotation out of large capitalisation technology stocks and with investors eyeing a speech from Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell tonight AEST - Dow fell -153-points or -0.34% Boeing Co (down -0.51%) is in discussions to sell as many as 500 jets to China, according to Bloomberg News. While the two sides are working out the details, including the number and kinds of aircraft included, Chinese officials have already begun asking domestic airlines how many planes they want, according to the report. Boeing has only made a handful of sales to Chinese carriers over the past few years.

Chris Titley sits down with Michael Skinner, Managing Director and Chief Investment Officer at Blackwattle Investment Partners. Blackwattle is a new-generation Australian fund manager, established in 2023, investing in high quality Australian and global equities. Based in Sydney, the firm's ethos centers on alignment, with all team members owning equity and investing significant personal capital alongside clients. Blackwattle focuses on delivering exceptional long-term returns by targeting high-quality companies with sustainable competitive advantages, driven by a culture of alignment, transparency, and rigorous fundamental research.

Technology stocks came under selling pressure for a second session to weigh on the benchmark US equity indices, while investors also digested the minutes from the Federal Reserve’s July monetary policy meeting - Dow edged +16-points or +0.04% higher. Travelers Companies Inc (up +2.02%) was the leading performer in the 30-stock index, while technology heavyweight Amazon.com Inc (-1.84%) and Apple Inc (-1.97%) were the key drags. Home Depot Inc fell -1.34% a day after the home improvement giant released its second quarter result.

Major technology companies led declines on US equity markets overnight - Dow inched +10-points or +0.02% higher to 44,922.27, touching a fresh record intra-day high (45,207.39). Nvidia Corp (down -3.50%) and Boeing Co (-3.19%) both fell over >3%. Reuters reported that Nvidia could look to deliver samples of a new artificial intelligence (AI) chip, entatively known as the B30A, to Chinese clients for testing as early as next month. Separately, there were reports that Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Jensen Huang sold 150,000 shares in the AI semiconductor giant.

US equity markets opened the week little changed - Dow slipped -34-points or -0.08%. UnitedHealth Group Inc (up +1.47% after jumping +11.98% last Friday (15 August)) was the leading Dow component for a second session running after filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) released late last week recorded that Berkshire Hathaway Inc took a new positions in the health insurer.

US equity markets mixed to close out a strong week as Wall Street tempered its rate-cut hopes following the latest inflation and retail sales data - Dow added +35-points or +0.08% to 44,946.12, logging its first record intra-day high (45,203.52) since December in the opening minutes of last Friday’s (15 August) session. UnitedHealth Group Inc jumped +11.98% after filings released after the close of the previous session with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) recorded that Berkshire Hathaway Inc took a new positions in the health insurer. Cisco Systems Inc (down -4.47%) was the worst performing Dow component, with HSBC downgrading the networking giant to a ‘hold’ recommendation from ‘buy’ following the company’s fiscal fourth quarter result a day earlier.

US equity markets settled little changed, paring earlier declines that came following wholesale inflation data that revived some concerns about tariffs inducing price pressures - Dow slipped -11-points or -0.02%, paring an earlier decline of more than >200-points. 3M Co -2.22% Amazon.com Inc +2.86%

US equity markets advanced, with both the S&P 500 and Nasdaq booking fresh record highs - Dow rose +464-points or +1.04% to 44,922.27, settling within 0.2% of its record closing high in December. UnitedHealth Group Inc (up +3.91%) was the leading performer in the 30-stock index for a second session running, while Merck & Co Inc (+3.00%) and Nike Inc (+3.07%) both rose ~3%.

The S&P500 and Nasdaq booked fresh record closing highs after tame inflation figures raised the likelihood of a Federal Reserve interest rate cut in September - Dow rose +484-points or +1.10% UnitedHealth Group Inc (up +3.65%) was the leading performer in the 30-stock index overnight. Goldman Sachs Group Inc (+3.36%) also gained over >3% despite President Trump criticising the investment bank’s Chief Executive Officer (CEO), David Solomon, on the Truth Social platform. "David Solomon and Goldman Sachs refuse to give credit where credit is due," President Trump wrote on Truth Social. "They made a bad prediction a long time ago on both the Market repercussion and the Tariffs themselves, and they were wrong, just like they are wrong about so much else." American Express Co (+2.36%), Boeing Co (+2.94%) and Home Depot Inc (+2.19%) all rose over >2%.

US equity markets retreated ahead of key inflation figures tonight AEST, shrugging off widely anticipated news that President Trump had signed an executive order that extended the deadline for tariffs on Chinese goods by another 90-days into early November - Dow fell -201-points or -0.45%, with Salesforce.com (down -3.26%) and International Business Machines (IBM) Corp (-2.46%) the biggest decliners in the 30-stock index. Apple Inc (down -0.83%) snapped a three-session winning streak that had lifted the stock ~12.5% over that timeframe. The company’s next major iPhone product launch date is rumoured to be 9 September.

US equity markets closed out a strong week on a positive footing, with the Nasdaq hitting a fresh record high as investors eye inflation figures and key geopolitical negotiations later in the week - Dow rose +207-points or +0.47% to 44,175.61, settling less than

US equity markets mixed after a choppy session - Dow settled -224-points or -0.51% lower after trading in a 690-point range for the session and recording its biggest intra-day reversal since 18 June). Caterpillar Inc fell -2.48%

Technology majors led the latest advance on US equity markets - Dow rose +81-points or +0.18% Apple Inc rallied +5.09% to be the leading performer in the 30-stock index after a White House official confirmed that the iPhone maker will announce an additional US$100B investment in the U.S., building on a commitment from earlier this year for US$500B in investments over the next four years. The company is also expected to announce a new American manufacturing program that aims to move more of its supply chain and advanced manufacturing stateside and that is meant to encourage other companies to boost manufacturing of critical components in the U.S. Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Tim Cook and President Trump formally confirmed the announcement after the close of the session. Amazon.com Inc (+4.0%) and Walmart Inc (+4.08%) both gained ~4%.

US equity markets retreated as investors digested the latest wave of corporate earnings, economic data, and various tariff updates - Dow slipped -62-points or -0.14% , with Salesforce Inc down -1.91% and McDonald’s Corp -1.79%, while Cisco Systems Inc (-1.42%), Microsoft Corp (-1.47%) and Visa Inc (-1.38%) all fell ~1.5%.

US equity markets rebounded from last Friday’s (1 August) steep falls amid increased bets for a September interest rate cut in the wake of weaker-than-expected jobs data - Dow rose +585-points or +1.34%, more than erasing last Friday’s (1 August) -542-point/-1.23% decline. Nvidia Corp rallied +3.62% to be the leading performer in the 30-stock index, while Cisco Systems Inc (+2.06%), Goldman Sachs Group Inc (+2.32%), Johnson & Johnson (2.22%), 3M Co (+2.40%), Microsoft Corp (+2.20%) and Walt Disney Co (+2.37%) all climbed over >2%. Boeing Co (+0.20%) is facing its second work stoppage in less than a year after more than 3,000 workers went on strike at midnight following a rejection of the plane maker's latest offer on Sunday (3 August).

US equity markets fell sharply to open August as new U.S. tariffs on dozens of trading partners and Amazon.com Inc’s underwhelming earnings weighed on sentiment, while a weaker payrolls report added to risk aversion - Dow fell -542-points or -1.23% to 43,588.58, marking the 30-stock index’s biggest one-day drop since 13 June. with Amazon (down -8.27%) the worst performer in the 30-stock index. Ten Dow components logged declines of more than >2%, including UnitedHealth Group Inc (-4.72%) and 3M Co (-3.22%).

US equity markets weaker as investors eyed some fresh ‘Big Tech’ earnings after the closing bell and tonight’s AEST key jobs data - Dow fell -330-points or -0.74%. UnitedHealth Group Inc lost -6.19% to be the worst performer in the 30-stock index, while Merck & Co Inc lost -4.44% International Business Machines (IBM) Corp (-2.73%), Nike Inc (-2.60%) and Salesforce Inc (-2.45%) all fell ~2.5%. Microsoft Corp +3.95%, with the company’s market capitalisation briefly climbing above >US$4 trillion