Morgans AM: Wednesday, 21 June 2023

US equity markets closed lower on Tuesday, after the S&P 500 on Friday booked a fifth straight week of gains with some stocks touching their highest level in more than a year - Dow fell -245-points or -0.72%. Intel, Nike and Boeing, each down by more than 3%. The broader S&P500 shed 18 points or +0.47%, as investors await testimony from Federal Reserve chair Jerome Powell to Congress this week. Energy (-2.29%) and Materials (-1.26%) were the biggest laggards that saw ten of the eleven primary sectors close lower overnight. Consumer discretionary rose. PayPal Holdings (PYPL) shares gained 3.7% after the digital payment platform announced a deal in which KKR - managed funds and accounts will purchase up to €40 billion of buy now, pay later loan receivables originated in Europe. The technology-centric Nasdaq fell +0.18%. Intel (INTC) declined -3.8%. The Israeli government said the chip maker was investing $25 billion to manufacture semiconductors in the country, just days after Intel announced a new facility in Poland. Electric vehicle maker Rivian Automotive (RIVN) climbed 5.5% after the company announced it would adopt Tesla’s (TSLA) charging plug and technology. Tesla shares also finished 5.3% higher after the announcement. US depositary Alibaba (BABA) fell 4.5% after the Chinese e-commerce giant said Daniel Zhang will be stepping down as chairman and chief executive. He will remain as leader of the company’s cloud intelligence group, which the company announced last month would be spun off. The small capitalisation Russell 2000 lost -0.34%.