Morgans AM: Monday, 7 August 2023

US equity markets retreated on Friday (4 August) as the dust settled on some major technology results and investors digested the latest non-farm payrolls report - Dow fell -150-points or -0.43%, with The broader S&P500 lost -0.53%, with Information Technology (down -1.4%), Utilities (-1.21%) and Consumer Staples (-1.02%) falling over >1% to lead nine of the eleven primary sectors lower. Consumer Discretionary (up +1.91%) and Energy (+0.03%) were the only primary sectors to advance on Friday (4 August). It’s been 113 trading sessions since the S&P 500 has seen a daily drop of 2% or more, the longest such stretch since 21 February, 2020, according to Dow Jones Market Data. When measured by the total number of 2% swings in either direction, last year was the most volatile for U.S. stocks since 2009. The S&P 500 recorded 46 daily swings of 2% or more in either direction last year, compared with 55 in 2009, according to Dow Jones Market Data. Of those, roughly half were down days.