Morgans AM: Monday, 31 July 2023

US equity markets closed out the week on positive note on Friday (28 July), with investors buoyed by upbeat corporate earnings releases and cooling inflation data - Dow rose +177-points or +0.5%, Intel Corp rallied +6.60% after the chipmaker’s second-quarter earnings released after the close of last Thursday’s (27 July) session recorded a return to profitability after two straight quarters of losses, accompanied by stronger-than-expected third quarter forecast  The broader S&P500 gained +0.99% to 4,582.23, logging its highest close since 4 April, 2022. Communication Services (up +2.30%) sat atop the primary sector leaderboard on Friday (28 July) for a third straight session, while Consumer Discretionary (+1.85%) and Information Technology (+1.48%) gained over >1%. The more defensive Real Estate and Utilities sectors both declined -0.26% and were the only primary sectors to settle in the red. The Nasdaq rallied +1.90%, with Alphabet Inc rising +2.46% to log its highest close in more than a year (US$132.58), and extending its weekly gain to +10.56% following their strong second quarter result earlier in the week. The small capitalisation Russell 2000 gained +1.36%. Roku Inc soared +31.41% ) after the streaming company’s second quarter results released after the close of the previous session topped consensus estimates at the top and bottom line.