Morgans AM: Thursday, 3 August 2023

US equity markets retreated a day after Fitch Ratings lowered its U.S. debt ratings to AA+ from the top AAA category, pointing to its growing debt burden and “erosion of governance” over the past two decades - Dow fell -348-points or -0.98%, with Intel Corp down -3.94% and Walt Disney Co -3.07%. The broader S&P500 dropped -1.38%, booking its biggest daily percentage decline since 25 April. The technology-centric Nasdaq shed -2.17%. Advanced Micro Devices Inc dropped -7.02% despite the chipmaker posting better-than-expected second quarter adjusted earnings per share and revenue after the close of the previous session. Amazon.com Inc (-2.64%) and Apple Inc (-1.55%) declined ahead of the release of their quarterly results tonight AEST, while Alphabet Inc (down -2.41%), Microsoft Corp (-2.63%) and Nvidia Corp (-4.81%) all fell over >2%. The small capitalisation Russell 2000 lost -1.37%. Chinese tech names JD.com Inc (down -4.47%) and Baidu Inc (-4.24%) fell more than >4% after China proposed limits on smartphone use for minors.