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US markets ended in the green last night, thanks in part to Nvidia's strong earnings report, which gave the Nasdaq a jolt. Earlier in the day, investors cheered news that a federal trade court had struck down Trump's broad tariff regime, only for the celebrations to fizzle out when an appeals court paused that ruling. It's all very exciting for lawyers, but confusing for investors, and a nightmare for import agents and logistics companies.

In company news, Meta Platforms is teaming up with defense-tech startup Anduril Industries to build AI-powered gear for the US military, including a next-gen helmet packed with virtual and augmented reality features. Elsewhere, HP is feeling the pinch as it missed on profits and cut its annual earnings forecast. The stock fell 8.3%.

In summary, the JSE All-share closed up 0.91%, the S&P 500 rose 0.40%, and the Nasdaq ended 0.39% higher. A decent performance.

US markets were muted yesterday and closed slightly lower, but there was plenty of excitement after hours. A federal trade court ruled that President Trump overstepped his authority by slapping tariffs on nearly every country, and scrapped his global levies that had fuelled a trade war. The White House immediately appealed the ruling, but now they are on the back foot. Futures rose.

In company news, Nvidia shares popped up 4.9% in post-market trade thanks to market-beating numbers. The AI investment theme is alive and well, and other tech titans have also risen. Elsewhere, ski-resort operator Vail Resorts soared 8.8% on the news that it's bringing back former CEO Rob Katz.

At the end of the day, the JSE All-share closed up 0.11%, the S&P 500 fell 0.56%, and the Nasdaq was 0.51% lower. Today looks more promising.

US markets started the shortened week on a strong note, regaining all the ground lost on Friday. The S&P 500 jumped 2%, boosted by a sharp rebound in consumer confidence and fresh momentum in US-EU trade talks. Nvidia rose by 3.1% ahead of its much-anticipated earnings release tonight.

In company news, Salesforce is back at the M&A table, snapping up data management firm Informatica for $8 billion. Elsewhere, AMD got a vote of confidence from HSBC, upgraded to "hold" from "reduce," thanks to renewed optimism following its AI-focused deal with Saudi Arabia. Lastly, Rocket Pharmaceuticals dropped 62.8% after a patient participating in a gene therapy trial died over the weekend. As we say here in South Africa, shame.

At the close, the JSE All-share rose by just 0.04%, but the S&P 500 leapt 2.05% higher, and the Nasdaq bolted on 2.47%. Lekker!

Wall Street was offline for Memorial Day, but European markets enjoyed a positive session yesterday. The Stoxx Europe 600 shook off Friday's slump after Donald Trump hit pause on his earlier threat to slap 50% tariffs on trade with the EU. True to form, he kept markets guessing, rattling sabres one day, pulling back the next.

In company news, Thyssenkrupp surged over 8% on news that its CEO is plotting a shake-up to transform the industrial giant into a holding company, paving the way for streamlined operations and more divestments. Volvo Cars added nearly 5% after announcing plans to trim 7% of its global workforce.

Izolo in Mzansi, the JSE All-share closed up 0.21%. That's it.

Wall Street flinched on Friday, going backwards after Donald Trump revived his tariff threats, this time taking aim at the European Union. The US Dollar buckled, reaching its weakest level since December 2023. Over the weekend he changed his mind, delaying a 50% tariff until July 9, after having a "very nice call" with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen.

In company news, Apple dropped 3% on Friday after Trump repeated the mad idea that iPhones must be made in America. Elsewhere, Oracle is gearing up to spend $40 billion on Nvidia chips to support OpenAI's massive new data centre in Texas. Finally, Salesforce is kicking the tyres on Informatica again, reviving takeover talks that fizzled out last year.

On Friday, the JSE All-share closed up 0.42%, but the S&P 500 fell 0.67%, and the Nasdaq was 1.00% lower. Yuk.

US markets were iffy yesterday. The S&P 500 logged a third straight daily loss, but the Nasdaq managed to sneak higher. Institutional investors might be choosing to buy 10-year US Government treasury bonds instead, because their yield rose back above 4.5%. This came after a Republican tax and spending bill passed the House, raising fears of bigger US deficits and lower creditworthiness in the years ahead.

Bitcoin just reached a new intraday high of $111 986.44. Make of that what you will.

In company news, Bill Ackman's Pershing Square has taken a stake in Amazon, calling it a "fantastic franchise" and saying the price was just too good to ignore. Elsewhere, Advance Auto Parts surged 57% after quarterly sales weren't as bad as feared, proof that in this market, "less bad" is sometimes good enough.

In short, the JSE All-share closed down 0.28%, the S&P 500 fell 0.04%, and the Nasdaq was 0.28% higher. Let's see how we go today.

US markets took a hit yesterday as a bloated budget was proposed in Congress, and a lacklustre Treasury bond auction spooked the debt markets. Equities were also rattled by a sloppy earnings report from Target, which warned of fading consumer confidence and tariff-related price hikes.

In company news, Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang slammed US chip export restrictions to China, calling them a strategic blunder that could cost American firms their lead as Huawei and others gain ground. Elsewhere, OpenAI is going physical, snapping up the AI hardware startup co-founded by Apple design legend Jony Ive in a $6.5 billion all-stock deal. It's a clear sign that the AI arms race is heating up on both the policy and product fronts.

At the end of the day, the JSE All-share closed up 0.68%, but the S&P 500 fell 1.61%, and the Nasdaq sagged by 1.41%. So it goes.

US markets slowed slightly on Tuesday, in the absence of any major catalysts. We aren't complaining though, after a steamy rally that has lifted the S&P 500 nearly 20% off its April lows. Alphabet and Amazon each slipped over 1% by the close, but Tesla rose after Elon Musk pledged to steer the EV maker for at least another five years.

In company news, Google is rolling out "AI mode" in search for all US users. Not to be outdone, Apple is opening the doors for third-party developers to tap into its AI models, to speed up app innovation. Lastly, Home Depot dipped 0.6% after missing profit expectations for the quarter. The DIY giant says it will simply drop items from its shelves that are badly affected by high import tariffs. That's one way of dealing with the problem.

In short, the JSE All-share closed up 0.29%, but the S&P 500 fell 0.39%, and the Nasdaq was 0.38% lower. Let's try again today.

US markets finished slightly higher yesterday, brushing off a Moody's downgrade. What, me worry? After dipping more than 1% in the morning, the S&P 500 clawed its way back to close up for a sixth straight session. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent met with Walmart execs to bully them into "eating the tariffs". This is embarrassing. Threats of price controls are for Marxists.

In company news, Novavax surged 15% after US regulators finally granted full approval for its Covid vaccine. Hello, it's 2025. Rather late than never? Elsewhere, Microsoft is adding models from Elon Musk's xAI startup to its Azure AI marketplace, a sign that the tech giant is keeping its options open beyond OpenAI.

At the end of the day, the JSE All-share closed down 0.14%, the S&P 500 rose 0.09%, and the Nasdaq was a tiny 0.02% higher. Squeaky, but clean.

US markets ended higher on Friday, capping off a beautiful week. The S&P 500 climbed 2.60% over those five days and the Nasdaq rose 2.87%. It's great that we've recovered so quickly, but investors remain anxious because Donald Trump is entirely unpredictable, and many of his ideas are bad for business confidence.

Late on Friday, Moody's downgraded US sovereign debt from its triple-A rating. The other two ratings agencies, Standard & Poor's and Fitch, had already taken this step years ago. One bond analyst said this was "a belated catch-up move without real implications of the US's creditworthiness."

In company news, CoreWeave jumped 22% to a record high after Nvidia disclosed a larger-than-expected stake in the cloud computing firm. Elsewhere, Apple and Epic Games are back in the ring, this time debating whether Apple is unfairly blocking Fortnite's return to iPhones. This is just the latest skirmish in their multi-year feud, which centres on Apple's tight grip over the App Store and the revenue it collects from in-app purchases.

On Friday, the JSE All-share closed up 0.30%, the S&P 500 rose 0.70%, and the Nasdaq was 0.52% higher.

US markets were patchy yesterday, with the S&P 500 ending up and the Nasdaq down. Retail bellwether Walmart said price hikes were coming, which rattled investors who were hoping that all tariff-related problems might just go away. It seems there will be a price to be paid for slapping trade taxes on goods from China.

In company news, Meta Platforms slipped 2.4% after reports emerged that they are delaying the rollout of a new flagship AI model. In late trading, Applied Materials shed 5.6% on a lukewarm forecast. Lastly, UnitedHealth extended its losing streak to eight sessions, down another 11% after news that the Justice Department is probing the company for potential criminal Medicare fraud. Urgh.

Here's the summary: the JSE All-share closed 0.15% down, the S&P 500 rose 0.41%, and the Nasdaq was 0.18% lower.

US markets ended in the green yesterday, continuing an impressive run this week. The S&P 500 has now rallied about 18% from its lowest closing level this year, and is now in the green for the year. Given all the drama we've been through, that's a remarkable outcome.

In company news, chipmakers were standouts once again. Nvidia rose 4.2% and AMD jumped 4.7%, as President Trump's tour of the Middle East sparked a wave of AI-related agreements involving American tech firms. The US also scrapped a Biden-era rule that restricted the export of certain AI technologies. Elsewhere, online trading firm eToro surged 29% on its first day after it's upsized IPO.

Izolo, the JSE All-share closed down 0.18%, but the S&P 500 rose 0.10%, and the Nasdaq was 0.72% higher. Thank you very much.

US markets ended higher yesterday, with major indices wiping out their 2025 losses. Trade tensions are easing, and sentiment was further boosted by cooler-than-expected inflation data. The consumer price index (CPI) rose just 2.3% year-on-year in April, the slowest pace since early 2021.

In company news, US chip stocks rallied after Nvidia and AMD announced they'll supply semiconductors for a $10 billion AI data center project in Saudi Arabia. Elsewhere, UnitedHealth shocked investors by replacing its CEO and pulling its earnings guidance, a move that's raised eyebrows over how a former Wall Street darling got its cost forecasts so wrong. Meanwhile, Google has just dropped its biggest Android update in years, stealing a bit of the spotlight ahead of Apple's upcoming software reveal.

In summary, the JSE All-share closed up 0.51%, the S&P 500 rose 0.72%, and the Nasdaq was 1.61% higher. Super stuff.

Markets roared higher yesterday after the US and China struck a deal to scale down the Trump-induced tariff war. The tech-heavy Nasdaq jumped 4.3%, closing more than 20% above its April low, the technical definition of a bull market. We stayed long and strong through this drama, so we are feeling vindicated. Let's see how long it takes before we are back at all-time market highs.

In company news, reports surfaced that Apple might hike iPhone prices and its stock rallied 6.3% on the day. Companies with complicated multi-country operations rallied hard - Amazon jumped 8.1%, Nike sprinted 7.3% higher, and Tesla revved up 6.8%. Metals and mining stocks fell as gold declined: AngloGold Ashanti dropped 10.3% and Gold Fields Limited sank 10.5%. Sorry chaps.

At the close, the JSE All-share closed up 0.34%, the S&P 500 screamed 3.26% higher, and the Nasdaq exploded by 4.35%. Wow, what a day!

US markets ended the week with barely a pulse, taking a breather after a stretch of volatility tied to trade policy jitters. Since the mid-February tariff mess began, investors have been on edge, but a wishy-washy deal with the UK, and some progress on talks with the Chinese seem to have steadied nerves. The S&P 500 finished marginally lower on Friday, and the Nasdaq ended flat.

In company news, Insulet surged 20% on Friday, a day after the insulin pump maker reported stronger-than-anticipated quarterly results. Elsewhere, digital marketing company Trade Desk soared 18.6% thanks to an impressive first quarter. Tesla and First Solar each climbed about 5%, showing there is still appetite for growth stories, especially those tied to the clean energy transition.

In summary, the JSE All-share closed up 1.07%, the S&P 500 fell just 0.07%, and the Nasdaq was unchanged. Not too bad.