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US markets closed lower yesterday, continuing their recent pullback. Semiconductor stocks took another hit, with Broadcom down 4.0%, and Nvidia slumping 6.7%. Ouch, you have to be able to take the good with the bad. At least drug stocks held steady, with Amgen (+3.2%), Eli Lilly (+0.7%) and J&J (+0.3%) up. That is why we diversify. The overall market wasn't too bad, as nine out of the eleven S&P 500 sectors ended in the green.

In company news, Apple and Meta closed marginally higher after reports emerged about talks to integrate Meta's generative AI model into Apple's AI system for iPhones, potentially giving Siri a new personality. The top performer in the S&P 500 was fertiliser maker Mosaic Co. The biggest decliner was ResMed (-11.5%), the maker of CPAP machines to treat obstructive sleep apnoea, on the news that Eli Lilly's Zepbound helped treat the condition.

Izolo, the JSE All-share closed up 0.62%, but the S&P 500 retreated by 0.31%, and the Nasdaq stumbled, falling 1.1%.

US markets closed slightly lower on Friday, but the major indices still held on to their third consecutive week of gains. Both the Nasdaq Composite and the S&P 500 were weighed down by a decline in semiconductor stocks like Broadcom (-4,4%), Nvidia (-3.2%) and Micron Technology (-3.2%). Year-to-date, the S&P 500 is up 15.2% and the Nasdaq Composite is up 19.8%.

In company news, Hertz Global jumped 16% after the car rental company increased the size of a bond issuance programme to $1 billion. Elsewhere, Sarepta Therapeutics' stock soared 30% after the FDA expanded approval for its Duchenne muscular-dystrophy gene therapy to include patients aged 4 and older.

On Friday, the JSE All-share closed down 0.38%, the S&P 500 eased 0.16%, and the Nasdaq fell 0.18%.

Stocks pulled back yesterday, after briefly reaching all-time highs. The S&P 500 exceeded 5 500 soon after the market open, but lost momentum as the day wore on. The tech sector cooled off with the Nasdaq Composite declining after a seven-day winning streak. Megacaps like Nvidia (-3.5%) and Apple (-2.2%) led the losses.

In the past three months, the ten largest stocks in the index by market capitalisation, primarily tech giants, have achieved a median gain of 17%. Meanwhile, the rest of the stocks that make up the index have experienced a decline of 1.3%, according to Bloomberg data.

In company news, Gilead Sciences closed up 8.5% after its experimental twice-yearly injection completely prevented HIV cases in women and adolescent girls in Africa, marking the first successful large trial of this promising new drug regimen. Elsewhere, MGM Resorts was 2.9% higher after launching online betting with live dealers at two of its Las Vegas resorts, a first for a casino operator on the iconic Strip. Lastly, Honeywell has agreed to purchase aerospace and defence company CAES Systems from private equity firm Advent International for $1.9 billion.

Yesterday the JSE All-share closed down 0.79%, the S&P 500 eased 0.25%, and the Nasdaq fell 0.79%. Dammit.

US equity and bond markets were closed for the Juneteenth holiday, which marks the end of slavery in America, in 1865. Locally, the JSE all-share index closed higher as the market responded to the inauguration of President Cyril Ramaphosa. What really matters now is his cabinet announcement, and who will be leading key portfolios.

In company news, Amazon announced an additional EUR 10 billion investment in its cloud infrastructure and logistics network in Germany, aiming to expand its data centre network in Europe. This comes on top of their earlier commitment to spend EUR 7.8 billion by 2040 to establish a sovereign cloud business in Germany. Meanwhile, Netflix revealed plans to open two large entertainment venues called "Netflix House" - one at King of Prussia Mall in Pennsylvania and the other at Galleria in Dallas, Texas.

At the close, the JSE All-share was up 1.21%.

US markets climbed yesterday, fuelled by a surge in chipmakers that propelled stocks to another record-breaking session. The S&P 500 marked its 31st record close of the year. The whole information technology sector continued its momentum, securing an eighth consecutive gain, its longest winning streak since November.

In company news, Nvidia closed up 3.5%, becoming the world's most valuable company, surpassing Microsoft and extending its record-breaking surge this year to 181%. Meanwhile, Occidental Petroleum shares rose 1.5% after Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway bought about 2.9 million shares of the oil company between Thursday and Monday, spending roughly $176 million, according to an SEC filing. Finally, Zentalis Pharmaceuticals fell 50.7% after it halted clinical trials of cancer treatments due to two deaths among patients being studied.

In short, the JSE All-share closed up 3.5% on post-election euphoria, the S&P 500 tacked on another 0.25%, and the Nasdaq managed to eke out a gain of just 0.03%. We'll take it.

US markets had another strong session, with large technology companies pushing both the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq Composite to new record highs. The S&P 500 has now reached 30 all-time highs this year. Year-to-date, the S&P 500 is up 15.4%, while the Nasdaq Composite has gained 20.9%. It's been a tremendous performance.

In company news, Tesla rose 5.3% after getting approval to test its advanced driver-assistance system on some streets in Shanghai. Meanwhile, Apple has discontinued its Buy Now Pay Later loan services just a year after launch, likely signalling a step back from its move into this crowded financial services space. Apple Pay remains a key feature on all iPhones. Finally, another of the notorious "shitcos", AMC Networks, plummeted 35.1% after issuing another $125 million of debt.

On Friday, the JSE All-share closed up 0.88%, then took the day off yesterday. Last night the S&P 500 rose 0.77%, and the Nasdaq powered 0.95% higher. Boom!

US markets rose for a fourth day, thanks to US producer prices dropping. Expectations were for a rise so this was really good news. Lower producer prices usually leads to lower inflation for the consumer. The market is now pencilling in two rate cuts from the Fed this year.

In company-specific developments, Tesla closed 3% higher on the news that Elon Musk's pay package has been approved. A judge in Delaware still needs to approve the scheme though. The best performer yesterday was server manufacturer Super Micro Computer (+12.4%), which jumped along with other AI stocks after strong results from chipmaker Broadcom. Virgin Galactic fell 14.28% after the company announced a 1-for-20 reverse stock split, a necessary evil in order to remain listed on the NYSE. At this rate, they'll never get off the ground.

Yesterday the JSE All-share closed down 0.87%, but the S&P 500 rose 0.23%, and the Nasdaq closed up 0.34%. Solid!

Global markets rallied again yesterday after US inflation slowed to its lowest level in over three years. US CPI rose by only 3.3% versus the market expectation of 3.4%. Stocks and bonds jumped, and the US Dollar got weaker. Later in the day, the US Fed reaffirmed the market's expectation of a rate cut towards the end of the year. We've been waiting for these developments, and now we feel pretty good.

In company news, Oracle had an excellent day (+13.3%) thanks to better than expected results and strong cloud business forecasts. Apple maintained the previous day's momentum, closing up another 2.9%, and bringing it to level pegging with Microsoft's market cap.

Yesterday the JSE All-share closed up 1.28%, the S&P 500 advanced 0.85%, and the Nasdaq jumped 1.53%. All-time highs again, thank you very much.

US markets were mixed yesterday. Many stocks were red, but thanks to a surge in Apple's share price, both the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq managed to close in the green, and at new record highs. Apple shot up 7.3%, adding over $200 billion in market cap, and is now only $40 billion behind Microsoft.

In company news, Paramount Global had a terrible day, falling 7.8% after a merger deal with Skydance was called off. This Paramount saga has been going on for months, an endless dance with multiple suitors, and now it all seems for nothing. Boeing also struggled (-2.4%), after announcing the sale of just four aircraft in May. Boeing used to be known for its engineering prowess, but now it's known for taking shortcuts. A tarnished reputation is hard to repair.

Yesterday the JSE All-share closed down 0.15%, but the S&P 500 rose 0.27%, and the Nasdaq charged higher by 0.88%.

US markets rose in a quiet trading session yesterday, with the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq Composite closing at fresh record highs. The top performers were Broadcom (+2.4%), Meta (+2.0%), Eli Lilly (+1.8%), and Amazon (+1.50%). Year-to-date, the S&P 500 is up 13.0% and the Nasdaq Composite is up 16.4%. That's excellent.

In company news, Nvidia successfully executed its 10-for-1 share split, so don't worry when you see the shares trading at $122 because you now have 10 shares for each one you held before. Apple dropped 1.9% despite unveiling new AI features for their forthcoming iOS 18, iPadOS 18, and MacOS Sequoia software platforms. There will also be a partnership with Sam Altman's OpenAI.

At the end of the day, the JSE All-share closed down 0.86%, but the S&P 500 rose 0.28%, and the Nasdaq was 0.35% higher.

Markets slipped and bond yields rose after a surprisingly strong US jobs report on Friday. Traders were reassessing their expectations for a September Fed rate cut, opening the door to the possibility that cuts might only start next year. Despite this, all major indices posted weekly gains to start June.

US employers added 272 000 jobs in May, breezing past economists' expectations of 180 000, coupled with higher than expected wage increases, indicating that the economy remains strong despite elevated interest rates. The unemployment rate increased to 4% presenting a mixed picture of a labour market that is cooling but still hotter than anticipated.

In company news, GameStop shares plummeted 39.4%, despite Roaring Kitty's YouTube stream which attracted over 650 000 views, making it the largest finance stream ever. The video game retailer's surprise quarterly earnings report showed narrowing losses, but sales declined by 29%. In other news, Crowdstrike is up 5.4% in after-market trade on the news that it will be added to the S&P 500, when the index rebalances later this month.

On Friday, the JSE All-share closed down 0.35%, the S&P 500 fell 0.11%, and the Nasdaq was 0.23% lower.

US markets went sideways last night, hovering close to their recent record highs. Both the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq Composite experienced tiny declines, with standout performances from companies like Lululemon (+4.8%), Uber (+4.7%), JM Smucker (+4.6%), Salesforce (+2.6%), and Amazon (+2.1%) offsetting declines elsewhere.

In company news, Instacart shares surged 9.1% after announcing a $500 million share buyback, its third since listing, bringing the total to over 10% of its outstanding stock. Meanwhile, Lyft closed up 1% after the ride-hailing company reported a positive outlook for gross bookings and margin expansion. Lastly, the bottom dropped out of Victoria's Secret (down 6.4%).

Izolo, the JSE All-share closed up 0.38%, the S&P 500 fell a tiny 0.02%, and the Nasdaq was 0.09% lower.

US markets ended on a high note yesterday, with the S&P 500 hitting its 25th record close of the year, and the Nasdaq notching its 13th new high. Technology giants like Nvidia (+5.2%), Broadcom (+6.2%), Applied Materials (+5.3%), Meta (+3.8%), and Netflix (+3.0%) were the primary drivers of these gains.

In company news, Alphabet has appointed former Eli Lilly finance chief Anat Ashkenazi as its new CFO, replacing Ruth Porat, who announced her departure plans last year. Powerful women at the top of the business world. Elsewhere, Lululemon shares jumped 9.7% after-hours as the athleisure company reported earnings and an outlook that exceeded market expectations. They make very nice tights.

Here's the lowdown, the JSE All-share was unchanged, the S&P 500 rose 1.18%, and the Nasdaq powered 1.96% higher. What can we say? Things are going very well for equity investors.

US markets closed slightly higher yesterday after data revealed that US job openings dropped to a three-year low of 8.1 million in April. The S&P 500 climbed for the third day in a row, pushing its annual gain to 11.5%, while the Nasdaq Composite is now up 14.1% for the year. We are not complaining.

In company news, CrowdStrike is up 6.8% after-hours as the cloud security giant reported revenue and earnings that beat the street's expectations. Elsewhere, Novelis, an aluminum recycling company backed by Hindalco, has postponed its US listing due to "unfavourable" market conditions.

At the close, the JSE All-share was off 1.17%, but the S&P 500 rose 0.15%, and the Nasdaq was 0.17% higher.

US markets ended higher yesterday despite data indicating a decline in factory activity. Investors appear to be waiting for additional data, such as Friday's crucial jobs report, to gain more insight into the economic outlook. The S&P 500 turned positive in the final minutes of trading, as a rally in big tech overshadowed a drop in energy producers.

In company news, Nvidia shares climbed another 4.9% after unveiling a new chip generation to fuel the ongoing AI development surge. Meanwhile, GameStop closed up 21%, after being up as much as 90%, as "Roaring Kitty" revealed what seemed to be a $116 million stake in the video game retailer. AP Moller-Maersk, a bellwether for global trade, upped its full-year profit forecast. The company said congestion in the Red Sea is causing disruption in global supply lines, leading to higher freight rates.

In short, the JSE All-share closed up 1.36%, the S&P 500 eked out a 0.11% gain, and the Nasdaq was 0.56% higher. We are trundling ahead.