Morgans Financial Limited

US equity markets rallied, with the S&P 500 climbing to within touching distance of the 5,000 mark as investors parsed through another slate of quarterly results - Dow climbed +156-points or +0.40% to a record close of 38,677.36.

Morgans AM: Wednesday, 7 February 2024 by Morgans Financial

US equity markets retreated after Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell continued to push back against the prospect of near-term rate cuts in an interview aired on Sunday (4 February) in America - Dow shed -274-points or -0.71% to 38,380.12 after settling at a record closing high of 38,654.42 last Friday (2 February). Boeing Co lost -1.31% after the aerospace company said it plans to dedicate several days at its 737 factory in Renton, Washington to carrying out inspections and reworking fuselages supplied to it by Spirit AeroSystems Holdings Inc (-4.71%). The chief executive of Boeing Commercial Airplanes unit, Stan Deal, said in a memo efforts to rework the 737 fuselages could delay some “near-term” deliveries of its classic single-aisle plane, which is used by major airlines including Southwest Airlines (-1.94%), and Delta Air Lines Inc ( -1.88%).

US equity markets rallied on Friday (2 January) as strong earnings and a blowout January employment report boosted confidence in the economy, even while lowering the likelihood that the Federal Reserve will cut interest rates any time soon – Dow gained +135-points or +0.35% to a record closing high of 38,654.42.

Morgans Analysts Alex Lu, Liam Schofield, Nathan Lead and James Filius, preview their stocks under coverage in the Industrials Sectors for the upcoming February Reporting Season. See Morgans Reporting Season Playbook for more details: https://www.morgans.com.au/reporting-season Check out more from Morgans: Visit the Morgans website: www.morgans.com.au Check out our blog: www.morgans.com.au/Blog On Facebook: www.facebook.com/MorgansAU On Instagram: www.instagram.com/Morgans.Australia On Twitter: twitter.com/MorgansAU

Morgans Analysts Adrian Prendergast, Tom Sartor and Chris Brown preview their stocks under coverage in the Resources Sector for the upcoming February Reporting Season. See Morgans Reporting Season Playbook for more details: https://www.morgans.com.au/reporting-season Check out more from Morgans: Visit the Morgans website: www.morgans.com.au Check out our blog: www.morgans.com.au/Blog On Facebook: www.facebook.com/MorgansAU On Instagram: www.instagram.com/Morgans.Australia On Twitter: twitter.com/MorgansAU

US equity markets rebounded after logging their worst two-day decline since October, with gains accelerating in the final hour of the session as investors eyed results from three (3) of the so-called ‘Magnificent Seven” large capitalisation technology stocks after the closing bell - Dow rallied +370-points or +0.97%.

Morgans Analysts Alex Lu and Belinda Moore preview their stocks under coverage in the Consumer Staples Sector for the upcoming February Reporting Season. See Morgans Reporting Season Playbook for more details: https://www.morgans.com.au/reporting-season Check out more from Morgans: Visit the Morgans website: www.morgans.com.au Check out our blog: www.morgans.com.au/Blog On Facebook: www.facebook.com/MorgansAU On Instagram: www.instagram.com/Morgans.Australia On Twitter: twitter.com/MorgansAU

Morgans Analysts Belinda Moore and Billy Boulton preview their stocks under coverage in the Travel & Tourism Sectors for the upcoming February Reporting Season. See Morgans Reporting Season Playbook for more details: https://www.morgans.com.au/reporting-season Check out more from Morgans: Visit the Morgans website: www.morgans.com.au Check out our blog: www.morgans.com.au/Blog On Facebook: www.facebook.com/MorgansAU On Instagram: www.instagram.com/Morgans.Australia On Twitter: twitter.com/MorgansAU

Morgans Chief Economist Michael Knox says that Federal Reserve rate cuts later this year will be shaded by a major program of quantitative tightening. Check out more from Morgans: Visit the Morgans website: www.morgans.com.au Check out our blog: www.morgans.com.au/Blog On Facebook: www.facebook.com/MorgansAU On Instagram: www.instagram.com/Morgans.Australia On Twitter: twitter.com/MorgansAU

US equity markets logged their worst single session performance of 2024 to close out January as investors digested the latest monetary policy pronouncements from the Federal Reserve and served up a lacklustre response to some solid earnings from some technology mega-caps - Dow lost -317-points or -0.82%, the 30-stock index’s biggest one-day point decline since December. Microsoft Corp (down -2.69%). Cisco Systems Inc (-3.94%), International Business Machines (IBM) Corp (-2.24%), Nike Inc (-2.54%) and Salesforce Inc (-2.31%) also declined over >2%.

Morgans Head of Research Alexander Mees previews his stocks under coverage in the Consumer Discretionary Sector for the upcoming February Reporting Season. See Morgans Reporting Season Playbook for more details: https://www.morgans.com.au/reporting-season Check out more from Morgans: Visit the Morgans website: www.morgans.com.au Check out our blog: www.morgans.com.au/Blog On Facebook: www.facebook.com/MorgansAU On Instagram: www.instagram.com/Morgans.Australia On Twitter: twitter.com/MorgansAU

Morgans Analysts Scott Power, Iain Wilkie and Emily Porter, preview their stocks under coverage in the Healthcare Sector for the upcoming February Reporting Season. See Morgans Reporting Season Playbook for more details: https://www.morgans.com.au/reporting-season Check out more from Morgans: Visit the Morgans website: www.morgans.com.au Check out our blog: www.morgans.com.au/Blog On Facebook: www.facebook.com/MorgansAU On Instagram: www.instagram.com/Morgans.Australia On Twitter: twitter.com/MorgansAU

US equity markets mixed after consumer-confidence numbers and job-opening data pointed to a sturdy U.S. economy, and with investors eyeing some major earnings releases after the closing bell and the Federal Reserve’s latest interest rate decision tomorrow morning AEST - Dow rose +134-points or +0.35% to 38,467.31, sealing its seventh record closing high of 2024. Walmart Inc rose ~1% in extended trading (after rising +0.33% in the regular session) after the retail giant announced a three-for-one stock split, with the stock sitting just below all-time highs.

Morgans Chief Economist Michael Knox walks us through his model for the US Economy using the Chicago National Activity Indicator, which explains 78% of YoY growth in US GDP. Check out more from Morgans: Visit the Morgans website: www.morgans.com.au Check out our blog: www.morgans.com.au/Blog On Facebook: www.facebook.com/MorgansAU On Instagram: www.instagram.com/Morgans.Australia On Twitter: twitter.com/MorgansAU

Morgans Analysts Nathan Lead, Richard Coles and Scott Murdoch, preview their stocks under coverage in the Financials Sector for the upcoming February Reporting Season. Including our Banks, Insurance, Diversified Financials and Fund Manager stocks. See Morgans Reporting Season Playbook for more details: https://www.morgans.com.au/reporting-season Check out more from Morgans: Visit the Morgans website: www.morgans.com.au Check out our blog: www.morgans.com.au/Blog On Facebook: www.facebook.com/MorgansAU On Instagram: www.instagram.com/Morgans.Australia On Twitter: twitter.com/MorgansAU

US equity markets advanced, extending gains in the afternoon session after a Treasury Department funding update underpinned a rally on bond markets that spread to stocks - Dow rose +224-points or +0.59% to 38,333.45, logging its sixth record close of 2024.

US equity markets logged modest declines on Friday (26 January) to close out the opening week of the fourth quarter earnings season with solid gains, with both the S&P 500 and Nasdaq snapping six-day winning streaks as investors weighed the latest inflation data and quarterly earnings releases - Dow added +60-points or +0.16% to a fresh all-time closing high of 38,109.43.

Morgans Analysts Nick Harris, James Filius, Steven Sassine and Leo Partridge, preview their stocks under coverage in the Technology, Media and Telecommunications Sectors for the upcoming February Reporting Season. See Morgans Reporting Season Playbook for more details: https://www.morgans.com.au/reporting-season Check out more from Morgans: Visit the Morgans website: www.morgans.com.au Check out our blog: www.morgans.com.au/Blog On Facebook: www.facebook.com/MorgansAU On Instagram: www.instagram.com/Morgans.Australia On Twitter: twitter.com/MorgansAU

US equity markets settled with modest gains as investors digested another busy earnings calendar and eyed tonight’s AEST fourth quarter gross domestic product (GDP) - Dow eased -99-points or -0.26%, having climbed as much as +159-points earlier in the session. Verizon Communications (down -2.25%) and 3M Co (-2.98%) were key drags a day after both companies posted quarterly results.