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US markets ended the week on a high note, with both the S&P 500 and Nasdaq enjoying their fifth consecutive session of gains on Friday. It was the best week of 2024 so far.

The first interest rate cut of the cycle is finally here. In the US, the debate isn't if, but by how much. We will find out what the Fed decides on Wednesday, but there is a growing feeling that a 50 basis point adjustment is possible. Locally, the SARB should cut rates on Thursday, most likely by 25 basis points.

In company news, Uber accelerated 6.5% higher thanks to a deal with Waymo to offer driverless taxi rides in Austin and Atlanta next year. Elsewhere, Trump Media shares surged 11.8% following Donald Trump's statement that he has "absolutely no intention of selling" his stake, despite the upcoming expiration of a lockup period. Finally, Boeing is facing the potential loss of its investment-grade credit rating, as the company braces for a prolonged workers' strike that could further hinder production and strain cash flow. When it rains, it pours.

On Friday, the JSE All-share was up 0.38%, the S&P 500 rose 0.54%, and the Nasdaq climbed another 0.65% higher. Great stuff.

US markets surged again yesterday and all major S&P 500 sectors ended in positive territory. Both mega-cap and small-cap stocks did well, with the so-called Mag-7 up 1.4%, and the Russell 2000 up 1.2%. Excitement is building ahead of the Fed rate cut next week.

In company news, grocery chain Kroger's shares rose 7.2% after it raised its full-year sales guidance. Elsewhere, Adobe fell 9% after issuing a revenue outlook that disappointed, despite its potential to deploy more AI image-creation tools. Finally, drug-developer Moderna fell 12.3% after announcing plans to cut research spending.

In summary, the JSE All-share closed down 1.04%, but the S&P 500 rose 0.75%, and the Nasdaq ended a very decent 1.00% higher. This has turned into a good week.

US markets opened on the back foot yesterday, before rebounding strongly thanks to encouraging inflation data. It was the first time since October 2022 that major indices erased an intraday loss of at least 1.5%. As usual the technology sector was the lead steer, chipmakers Nvidia and Arm surged 8.2% and 10.3%, respectively.

In company news, after 155 years, Campbell Soup Company is rebranding by dropping "Soup" from its corporate name to become "The Campbell's Company" because they also sell lots of snacks. Elsewhere, OpenAI is reportedly in discussions to raise $6.5 billion from investors, which could value the company at $150 billion. Finally, First Solar rose 15.2% as renewable energy companies rallied following the US presidential debate last night.

At the end of it all, the JSE All-share closed down 1.00%, the S&P 500 rose 1.07%, and the Nasdaq stormed 2.17% higher.

US markets had another good day yesterday. Most of the gains came from big tech as the Magnificent Seven rose 1.5% with Oracle (+11.4%), Tesla (+4.6%), and Amazon (+2.4%) leading the charge. The energy sector was the worst performer, down 2% after OPEC trimmed its oil demand forecast. The price of that stinky commodity is below $70 a barrel for the first time since 2021.

In company news, JPMorgan's shares dropped 5.2% after an executive at the bank warned that investors might be underestimating their upcoming expenses while overestimating their interest income, as rates come down. Elsewhere, Bank of America announced that its investment-banking results are likely to fall short of expectations. The biggest loser in the S&P 500 was Hewlett Packard (-8.5%), as it scratched around to fund its acquisition of Juniper Networks.

At the close, the JSE All-share was up 0.25%, the S&P 500 rose 0.45% and the Nasdaq was 0.84% higher. That's more like it.

US markets have been on a roller-coaster ride recently, and rebounded strongly yesterday. Last week was dreadful, and now we are recovering. The gains were broad-based, with all eleven sectors of the S&P 500 closing in the green. Big tech names like Nvidia (+3.5%), Tesla (+2.6%), and Amazon (+2.3%) underpinned the move higher.

In company news, Apple unveiled the fresh iPhone 16, with CEO Tim Cook emphasising that it's designed specifically for artificial intelligence "from the ground up." The updated Apple Watch Series 10 looks good too. Elsewhere, Oracle shares surged 9% in after-hours trading following stronger-than-expected earnings. Finally, discount retailer Big Lots filed for bankruptcy protection and is preparing to sell its assets and ongoing operations through a court-supervised process.

Izolo, the JSE All-share closed up 0.09%, the S&P 500 rose 1.16%, and the Nasdaq was also 1.16% higher.

US markets ended Friday in the red, capping a very sloppy week, the worst since March 2023. Almost every major sector in the S&P 500 dropped. The grumpy mood was due to a marginally soft monthly jobs report, which reignited fears that the US economy is slowing down, and consensus that the Federal Reserve has taken way too long to cut excessively high interest rates.

Nonfarm payrolls increased by 142 000 last month, bringing the three-month average to its lowest level since mid-2020. To keep things in perspective, the unemployment rate dipped to 4.2%, which is really rather low. Come on folks, let's all just be patient.

In company news, Darktrace CEO Poppy Gustafsson is set to step down after orchestrating a $5 billion sale of the British cybersecurity company to private equity firm Thoma Bravo. Meanwhile, Boeing has proposed a four-year deal with a union representing over of its 32 000 workers, offering a 25% wage increase to avert a strike. This is a notable win for Boeing, as the union's initial demand was a 40% raise.

On Friday, the JSE All-share closed down 0.95%, the S&P 500 tanked by 1.73%, and the Nasdaq was punished by 2.55%. A very unseemly end to the week.

US markets ended mixed yesterday as investors await key jobs data today. The session saw plenty of ups and downs, with the broader S&P 500 closing lower despite strong gains from major tech players like Tesla (+4.9%) and Amazon (+2.6%).

In company news, Nvidia gained 0.9% after Bank of America analysts suggested its recent dip was a buying opportunity. Tesla was boosted by a new subscription-based driver-assist software roll out in China and Europe. Sadly, Broadcom tumbled 6.7% in after-hours trading following a lukewarm profit forecast for the rest of the year.

In summary, the JSE All-share closed up 0.28%, the S&P 500 fell 0.30%, but the mighty Nasdaq was 0.25% higher.

US markets drifted around yesterday, looking a bit lost, before closing lower. Weaker-than-expected job openings data suggested that the labour market is weakening quite quickly, so the probability of a 50 basis point rate cut this month has risen.

In company news, Nippon Steel rebounded after a three-day losing streak, on news that Joe Biden plans to block its $14.1 billion bid to acquire US Steel. In response, US Steel shares plummeted 17%. Elsewhere, the Nordstrom family plans to take their department store chain private in a transaction worth $3.8 billion. Finally, the biggest gainer in the S&P 500 was Tesla (+4.2%). It's not clear why that happened, but you should buy an electric car.

In short, the JSE All-share closed down 0.29%, the S&P 500 fell 0.16%, and the Nasdaq was 0.30% lower. Boo!

US markets got out of the wrong side of the bed yesterday and ended deeply in the red. Shares of chipmakers were the worst affected, maybe because they've gone up the most in 2024. Both major indices dropped over 2%, marking their worst start to September since 2015.

The sell-off was probably due to a disappointing US manufacturing report, which heightened fears of an economic slowdown in the world's largest economy, prompting a broad risk-off sentiment among investors.

In company news, Molson Coors was the top performer in the S&P 500, up 5.4% for no particular reason. Over in Europe, Volkswagen is weighing the possibility of shutting down factories in Germany, a move that would be a first in the company's 87-year history, and a big risk to a three-decade-old agreement with workers. Elsewhere, Boeing shares dropped another 7.3% after Wells Fargo downgraded the company to a sell-equivalent rating.

At the end of a tough day, the JSE All-share was down 1.59%, the S&P 500 flopped 2.12% lower, and the Nasdaq lost 3.26%. Ouch.

US markets were closed yesterday, so here's some information about market seasonality. Since the 1950s, September has been its weakest month for the S&P 500, with an average decline of 0.7% and gains only 43% of the time. The past four Septembers have been particularly rough, with the index falling 4.9%, 9.3%, 4.8%, and 3.9%, respectively. Several factors might explain this trend: investors often return from summer breaks with a more cautious approach to their portfolios, companies begin budget preparations and consider cost-cutting, and mutual funds may engage in "window dressing" by selling losing positions to manage capital-gains distributions.

In company news, ByteDance, the Chinese company behind TikTok, is seeking a $9.5 billion loan, which would be the largest US Dollar-denominated corporate loan in Asia outside of Japan. Citigroup, Goldman Sachs, and JPMorgan are leading the financing effort. The loan is set for an initial term of three years but can be extended for up to five years, according to sources familiar with the situation.

Izolo, the JSE All-share closed down 0.32%. It was a dull day with nothing else going on.

US markets rallied on Friday, closing out the month of August on a positive note. A late surge in the final 10 minutes of trading sent all eleven sectors of the S&P 500 into the green, helping the broad market index to a fourth consecutive month of gains. For the record, it's up 19.1% for the year to date, which is very satisfactory.

Data out on Friday showed that the core personal consumption expenditures (PCE) price index increased mildly, so a Fed rate cut in mid-September is now a foregone conclusion.

In company news, Intel was the biggest gainer (+9.5%) in the S&P 500 on a report suggesting a new turnaround plan could be in the works. Pfft, good luck with that. Elsewhere, Ulta Beauty fell 4.0% after the cosmetics giant smudged its full-year forecast.

On Friday, the JSE All-share closed down 0.58%, the S&P 500 flipped up 1.01%, and the Nasdaq also ended 1.13% higher.

US markets were mixed yesterday and the S&P 500 ended flat. Five of the "magnificent seven" stocks managed to close in positive territory but market darling Nvidia fell 6.4% in the aftermath of its superlative second quarter-numbers.

In company news, Dell Technologies rose 3.3% after-hours thanks to strong sales of servers that run artificial intelligence workloads. Elsewhere, Lululemon climbed 4.3% as the athleisure leader's results surpassed Wall Street's tempered expectations. Finally, Autodesk gained 5% in late trading after the company raised its outlook for design software sales.

In summary, the JSE All-share closed up 0.26%, the S&P 500 was unchanged, and the Nasdaq was 0.23% lower.

US markets closed lower yesterday, with quiet trading on Wall Street in late summer, heading into a long weekend. Nine out of the eleven sectors in the S&P 500 ended the day in negative territory. Don't fret, the overall index has still gained 18% year-to-date, and the tech-focused Nasdaq is up 19%.

In company news, Berkshire Hathaway has joined an exclusive club of companies with a market value above $1 trillion, just in time for Warren Buffett's 94th birthday. Elsewhere, Nvidia delivered very impressive results but the share price fell 7% in late trading. They projected third-quarter revenue of $32.5 billion, slightly above analysts' estimates of $31.9 billion. Finally, CrowdStrike had good results and said its outlook remains strong even after causing a global IT outage last month. Its shares initially surged on the positive news but later gave up those gains.

At the end of normal Wednesday trade the JSE All-share closed down 0.63%, the S&P 500 fell 0.60%, and the Nasdaq was 1.12% lower.

US markets ended on a moderately positive note yesterday after a quiet, late-summer trading session in New York. The technology sector firmed a little, with Nvidia rising by 1.5% ahead of its much-anticipated earnings announcement later tonight. We should see some fireworks tomorrow, depending on how those go.

In other company news, Nordstrom is up 7.7% after the retailer raised its sales forecast. Elsewhere, Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg expressed regret that Facebook didn't push back harder against the US government's Covid-19 censorship requirements during the pandemic. Lastly, cannabis stocks including Curaleaf and Canopy went up in smoke (down about 10% each) over some regulatory disappointment from the DEA.

In short, the JSE All-share closed up 0.43%, the S&P 500 inched up 0.16%, and the Nasdaq also crawled 0.16% higher.

US markets ended in the red yesterday despite briefly nearing new highs soon after the open. Defensive sectors like financial, energy, and utilities gained, but technology, healthcare, and consumer cyclical stocks softened. The "magnificent seven" stocks collectively dropped by 1.1% as traders worry about Nvidia's all-important earnings on Wednesday night.

In company news, the Dutch data protection authority imposed a EUR290 million fine on Uber for transferring European drivers' personal data to the United States without sufficient safeguards. Huh, really? Elsewhere, after over a decade in the role, Apple Chief Financial Officer Luca Maestri will step down soon and be replaced by his top deputy, Kevan Parekh. In other Apple news, the company moved its big product launch a day earlier to 9 September to avoid competing with the presidential debate on 10 September. That's sensible.

Izolo, the JSE All-share closed down 0.19%, the S&P 500 fell 0.32%, and the Nasdaq was 0.85% lower.