Morgans Financial Limited

US equity and bond markets were CLOSED on Friday night AEST (4 July) for Independence Day. For the shortened trading week, the Dow rallied +2.30%. The S&P 500 climbed +1.72% and the Nasdaq +1.62%

US equity markets advanced in an abbreviated trading session ahead of the Independence Day holiday, with the S&P 500 and Nasdaq hitting fresh record closing highs for the fourth time in the last five days as investors a stronger-than-expected jobs report - Dow rose +334-points or +0.77% to 44,828.53, falling just short of logging its first record closing high since December. American Express Co (up +1.03%), investment banks Goldman Sachs Inc (+1.09%) and JPMorgan Chase & Co (+1.86%) and Nvidia Corp (+1.33%) all hit record highs.

US equity markets advanced ahead of key jobs data tonight AEST ahead of the 4 July holiday, with investors also continuing to the progress of the massive tax and spending bill that is now being debated in the House of Representatives (after narrowly being approved in the Senate a day earlier) while eying the 9 July deadline tariff deadline - Dow dipped -11-points or -0.02% Nike Inc (up +4.06%) was the leading performer in the 30-stock index, climbing to a three-month high. Apple Inc (up +2.22%) advanced for a fourth straight session following reports at the start of the week that the iPhone maker could use OpenAI or Anthropic to power the next generation of Siri. Apple was the only member of the ‘Magnificent Seven’ to lose ground in the second quarter (down -7.64%). Microsoft Corp (down -0.20%) confirmed a Bloomberg report of plans to make more cuts to its global workforce that could impact an estimated 9K workers and primarily effect sales teams. The latest cuts come just weeks after a reported 3% workforce

US equity markets mixed to open the new month and quarter, with the S&P 500 and Nasdaq pulling back from record highs as investors continued to monitor trade negotiations and the progress of President Trump’s "One Big Beautiful Bill" through Congress - Dow climbed +400-points or +0.91% Amgen Inc (+5.05%) and UnitedHealth Group Inc (+4.54%) rallied over >4%, while Merck & Co Inc (+3.35%), Nike Inc (+3.34%) and Sherwin-Williams Co (+3.38%) gained over >3%. Nvidia Corp (down -2.97%) was the worst performer in the 30-stock index overnight.

US equity markets advanced, pushing further into record territory to cap another strong month and impressive second quarter rebound - Dow rose +276-points or +0.63% to 44,094.77. Goldman Sachs Group Inc gained +2.45% to US$707.75 to be the leading component in the 30-stock index overnight and logging its third record closing high, with analysts at Citigroup noting the investment bank emerged as “the big winner” in last Friday’s (27 June) latest annual bank stress tests conducted by the Federal Reserve due to its ”much better-than-expected” improvement in stress capital buffers. Apple Inc +2.03% following a report from Bloomberg News that the company is considering using technology from Open AI or Anthropic to power voice assistant Siri.

The benchmark S&P 500 index and Nasdaq indices hit record all-time highs on Friday (27 June) albeit US equity markets settled off their session highs (and briefly turned negative in afternoon trading) as investors digested a mixture of trade policy news - Dow rose +432-points or +1.00% to 43,819.27, still sitting ~2.7% below its record high. Nike Inc soared +15.19% to pace gains in both the Dow and S&P 500 after athletic apparel maker topped fiscal fourth-quarter estimates after the close of last Thursday’s (26 June) session. Boeing Co rallied +5.91%, buoyed by news of Washington and Beijing agreeing on a framework of a trade deal after a months-long tariff war. Nvidia Corp (+1.76%) insiders sold over >US$1B worth of company stock in the past year, with a notable uptick in recent trading activity as executives capitalise on surging investor interest in artificial intelligence (AI), the Financial Times (FT) reported on Sunday (29 June). More than >US$500M of the share sales took place this month as the chip d

US equity markets advanced and remained on track to book a second consecutive month of strong gains, with White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt playing down the July tariff deal deadlines that have been looming over markets - Dow climbed +404-points or +0.94% to 43,386.84, its highest close since 28 February but still -3.6% below its record closing high set on 4 December 2024 of 4,5014.04. Caterpillar Inc (up +2.77%) and Goldman Sachs Group Inc (+2.58% and touching a record intra-day high along with JPMorgan Chase & Co (+1.65%)) gained over >2.5%. Nvidia Corp added +0.46% and touched a fresh record high that briefly lifted the chipmaker’s market capitalisation above >US$3.8 trillion, having reclaimed its title of the world’s most valuable company by market capitalisation from Microsoft Corp (+1.05% and hitting a fresh record high) on Wednesday (25 June).

US equity markets settled narrowly mixed - Dow eased -107-points or -0.25%, with McDonald’s Corp (down -2.03%) the worst performer in the 30-stock index overnight. Nvidia Corp climbed +4.33% to a record closing high of US$154.31. It marked the chipmaker’s first record close since January, lifting Nvidia’s market capitalisation to US$3.77 trillion to reclaim the title as the world’s most valuable company by market capitalisation from one of its main customers Microsoft Corp (+0.44% to US$492.27, marking the 12th record close in 17 June trading sessions). Nvidia hosted its annual shareholder meeting overnight, with Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Jensen Huang identifying robotics as the company’s biggest market for potential growth outside of artificial intelligence (AI) and noting that self-driving cars would be the first major commercial application for the technology. “We have many growth opportunities across our company, with AI and robotics the two largest, representing a multitrillion-dollar growth opportu

US equity markets rallied and oil prices tumbled for a second consecutive session as investors welcomed news of a fragile cease-fire agreement between Iran and Israel - Dow rose +507-points or +1.19% to 43,089.02, with six of the index’s components logging gains of over >2%. American Express Co (up +2.92%), Salesforce Inc (+2.95%) and Nvidia Corp (+2.59%) gained over >2.5%. International Business Machines (IBM) Corp (1.59%) and Microsoft Corp (+0.85%) hit record highs.

US markets were stronger overnight, as investors shrugged off Iran’s missile attacks on two US military bases in Qatar and Iraq. The view being it is an indication of Iran’s inability or unwillingness to engage in a wider conflict. The Dow rose 0.89% to 42,581.78. Paint manufacturer Sherwin-Williams was the top performer of the 30-stock index, rising 3.1%.

US equity markets resumed trading following the Juneteenth National Independence Day holiday, with investors’ attention remaining keenly focussed on developments in the Middle East - Dow inched +35-points or +0.08% higher. Apple Inc rose +2.25% to be the leading performer in the 30-stock index and buck a weaker trend among the so-called ‘Magnificent Seven’, with reports emerging executives have held internal talks about potentially bidding for artificial intelligence (AI) startup Perplexity AI. If regulators order Apple to end its partnership with Google, purchasing Perplexity would make it easier for the company to develop an AI-based search engine. The Bloomberg report came after CNBC confirmed on Friday (20 June) that Meta Platforms Inc (down -1.93%) approached Perplexity AI about a potential takeover bid before ultimately investing $14.3B into Scale AI. Microsoft Corp eased -0.59% to US$477.40 after touching a fresh record intra-day high (US$483.46). Amazon.com Inc lost -1.33% after the news that the UK's

US equity and bond markets were CLOSED overnight. In US corporate earnings, global professional services company Accenture, used car retailer CarMax Inc, Darden Restaurants and supermarket group Kroger Co report quarterly results on Friday night AEST (20 June).

Morgans AM - Thursday, 19 June 2025 by Morgans Financial

US equity markets fell as the Israel-Iran conflict continued to dominate investor sentiment and drive volatility and a fresh spike in oil prices - Dow lost -299-points or -0.70%. Merck & Co Inc (down -3.31%) and Nike Inc (-3.07%) both fell over >3%. Amazon.com Inc (down -0.59%) said its Prime Day discount event for Prime members next month will extend to four days (8 July-11 July).

US equity markets rebounded amid reports that Iran is willing to negotiate over its nuclear program in an effort to contain the conflict with Israel - Dow rose +317-points or +0.75%, with American Express Co (+2.23%), Cisco Systems Inc (+2.22%), investment banks Goldman Sachs Group Inc (+2.33%) and JPMorgan Chase & Co (+2.04%), Nike Inc (+2.26%), and Salesforce Inc (+2.12%) Microsoft Corp +0.88% touched a record all-time intra-day high of US$480.69

US equity markets retreated on Friday (13 June) after Israel launched a wave of airstrikes on Iran and its nuclear facilities, pushing oil prices sharply higher - Dow dropped -770-points or -1.79% Sherwin-Williams Co -5.7% was the worst performer in the 30-stock index, with analysts at Citigroup cutting their recommendation on the stock to "neutral" from "buy," indicating that the persistence of high mortgage rates and softness in the housing market could weigh on the paint distributor's performance in the near term. Visa Inc fell -4.99% and American Express Co -3.42% after a report in The Wall Street Journal indicated that Walmart Inc (-0.41) and Amazon.com Inc (-0.53%) are considering issuing their own stablecoins, a move that could help the retail giants sidestep the interchange fees charged by credit-card providers. Nike Inc (-3.61%) and Salesforce Inc (-3.19%) also fell over >3%.

US equity markets advanced and remained on track to book a third straight weekly gain as investors awaited more signs of progress on trade negotiations and responded to fresh economic data - Dow added +102-points or +0.24% Boeing Co -4.79% after an Air India 787-8 Dreamliner jet crashed minutes after taking off in India's western city of Ahmedabad, killing more than 200 people.

US equity markets retreated, with the S&P 500 and Nasdaq handing back earlier gains and snapping a three-session winning streak as investors digested a tame inflation report and fresh Middle East tensions while awaiting further details on China-U.S. trade talks - Dow flat Goldman Sachs Group Inc (up +1.51%), International Business Machines (IBM) Corp (+1.91%) and UnitedHeath Group Inc (+2.23%) all gained over >1.5%, while Amazon.com Inc (down -2.03%), Apple Inc (-1.92%) and Home Depot Inc (-2.02%) declined ~2%.

US equity markets advanced for s third session as US officials signalled progress on US-China trade talks - Dow rose +105-points or +0.25% Nike Inc +3.17% was the leading performer in the 30-stock index, while Merck & Co Inc (+2.55%) and Walt Disney Co (+2.65%) gained over >2.5%. International Business Machines (IBM) Corp climbed +1.53% to a fresh record closing high of US$276.24 after the company outlined what is called a “viable path” to building the world’s first "fault-tolerant" quantum computer by the end of the decade named IBM Quantum Starling. IBM also booked its longest winning streak since December 2023, recording its eighth consecutive session advance after announcing plans to build what it calls “the world’s first large-scale, fault-tolerant quantum computer” by 2029, saying it will make way for practical and scalable quantum computing. McDonald’s Corp fell -1.43% after the fast food giant received its third broker downgrade in three-days.

US equity markets settled with modest gains, building on last week’s advance that saw the benchmark indices log weekly gains of over >1% as investors awaited news from trade talks taking place between the U.S. and China - Dow flat at 42,761.76. Apple Inc -1.21% as its annual Worldwide Developers Conference kicked off overnight, with the company announcing its first new iPhone operating system redesign since 2013. However, there were no highly anticipated updates around artificial intelligence (AI)-enhanced Siri features, with Senior Vice President of Software Engineering Craig Federighi saying that the Siri features “need more time to reach our high quality bar” and that more information will be released “in the coming year.” Boeing Co (up +3.18%) aircraft manufacturer landed its first plane in China after the easing of trade tensions with the U.S. led Beijing to allow deliveries of its jets again. Nvidia Corp +0.64% Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Jensen Huang pledging to boost investment in the UK’s AI secto