Mega cap tech shares of Amazon.com (-2.3%), Apple (-1.6%) and Microsoft (-1%) all weighed on major indexes. Shares of cloud company Snowflake were down by 10.4% a day after its market debut.

Retail sales lifted at a slower rate than forecast. And investors concluded that the Federal Reserve would leave rates low for an extended period. Shares in FedEx rose 5.8% after latest earnings beat market forecasts. The Dow Jones index rose by 37 points or 0.1%. The S&P500 index fell by 0.5% and the Nasdaq index fell by 140 points or 1.3%.

Technology shares lifted with Tesla shares up 7.2%, rising for the fifth day, as anticipation heats up for its “Battery Day” event next week. Netflix shares rose 4.1% and Facebook shares gained 2.4%. Apple shares rose 0.2% following its rollout of a new virtual fitness service and a bundle of all its subscriptions, Apple One. But Citigroup (-6.9%) shares fell on risk management regulatory concerns.

In vaccine news, AstraZeneca resumed its British clinical trials of its COVID-19 vaccine. And shares in Pfizer Inc gained 2.6% after the drugmaker and German biotech firm BioNTech SE proposed to expand their Phase 3 pivotal COVID-19 vaccine trial to about 44,000 participants.

Shares in cloud services provider Oracle fell 0.6% despite earnings beating expectations. The Dow Jones index rose by 131 points or 0.5% assisted by gains of 1.3% for Home Depot with shares in Caterpillar up 2.65%.

A fresh sell-off in heavyweight technology shares sent stocks to a fourth loss in five days. Shares of Apple (-3.3%), Microsoft (-2.8%) and Amazon.com (-2.9%) dropped as investors continued to fret about stretched valuations.

Shares in Apple rose 4.0% with Tesla up 10.9%. Shares in ‘stay-at-home’ stocks like Facebook and Amazon also rose. Reuters reported that shares in “Tiffany & Co tumbled 6.4% after French luxury goods giant LVMH warned it was set to walk away from its planned $16 billion takeover of the US jeweller.” The Dow Jones index rose by 440 points or 1.6%. The S&P500 index lifted 2.0% and the Nasdaq index gained 294 points or 2.7%.

Technology shares extended their slide. Tesla shares lost 21.1% after being snubbed for inclusion in the S&P 500 index. Apple shares fell 6.7%, despite announcing an event on September 15 where it is expected to reveal new products.

So-called ‘defensive’ areas of the market did well including utilities, consumer staples, and real estate. The Dow Jones index rose by 455 points or 1.6%. The S&P500 index lifted by 1.5% and the Nasdaq index rose by 117 points or 1.0% – both closing at record highs.

Solid factory data fuelled optimism about the US economic recovery. Apple shares rose 4% on reports of orders for 75 million 5G iPhones later this year. Shares of Zoom Video surged 40.8% after it raised its annual revenue forecast by over 30%.

Some investors booked profits at the end of the month. Shares in Tesla rose 12.6% and shares in Apple rose 3.4% after both companies effected stock splits.

US sharemarkets rose on Friday with the S&P 500 and Nasdaq at record highs.

The Dow Jones index rose 160 points or 0.6%. The S&P500 index lifted 0.2% to a record closing high. But the Nasdaq index lost 39 points or 0.3%.

Technology led the way. Shares in Netflix rose 11.6% on a survey showing that subscription numbers will remain firm after stay-at-home advices are eased. Salesforce.com, the cloud computing company and soon-to-be Dow component, gave the S&P its biggest boost, its shares gaining 26% following its earnings report. The Dow Jones index rose by 83 points or 0.3%. The S&P500 index lifted 1.0% to record highs and the Nasdaq index gained 199 points or 1.7% to a record high.

The S&P500 and Nasdaq indexes hit fresh all-time highs. US and China officials reaffirmed their commitment to the ‘Phase One’ trade deal. Moderna said it’s near a deal to supply 80 million vaccine doses to the EU. Shares of Facebook (+3.5%) hit record highs after unveiling a series of tools designed to expand shopping on its platform. But Apple shares retreated 0.8% ahead of its 4-to-1 stock split. Shares of electronics retailer Best Buy fell 4% after warning of a slowdown in sales in the third quarter. The Dow Jones index fell by 60 points or 0.2%. But the S&P500 index lifted 0.4% and the Nasdaq index gained 86 points or 0.8% -both record closes.

US sharemarkets lifted on Monday in response to news on advances in the war against the coronavirus. But dampening sentiment was the stalled talks by US Congress on a fresh aid package for the jobless.

Both the S&P 500 and Nasdaq are at record highs. Economic data encouraged investors. A 5.15% lift in shares in Apple drove markets higher. The Dow Jones index rose by 191 points or 0.7%. The S&P500 index lifted 0.3% to record highs.

Shares fell early in the trading session on disappointing US economic data. But a rally in tech giants Apple (+2.2%), Tesla (+6.6%), Microsoft (+2.3%) and Amazon (+1.1%) boosted indexes.

Technology led the way. Shares in chipmaker Nvidia rose 6.7% after two analysts raised price targets on the stock. So-called ‘stay at home stocks’ continued to rise, including Amazon (up 1.1%).

The ASX 200 is trading near the highs of the morning and is 28 points or 0.46% higher at 6,119. It was up 34pts or 0.55% at the best levels of the morning.

Investors mulled the stalemate in Washington stimulus negotiations and digested the better-than-expected jobs data.

Investors were encouraged by data showing higher consumer prices, suggestive of a firmer economy. Shares in Tesla jumped 13.1% as it announced a five-for-one stock split. Investors are awaiting a deal being agreed by US Congress on a job support package. The Dow Jones index gained 290 points or 1.1%; the S&P500 index rose 1.4% to just short of a record closing high, and the Nasdaq index rose by 229 points or 2.1%.

The Dow Jones and S&P500 indexes rose earlier in the trading session on news of Russia’s potential coronavirus vaccine. US President Trump’s announcement on Monday that he’s considering a capital gains tax cut had also boosted sentiment. But shares lost momentum in afternoon trade after US Senator Mitch McConnell said virus stimulus talks had hit a stalemate. And profit-taking continued in mega tech names with Apple (-3%) and Netflix (-3.4%) shares both down. The Dow Jones index fell by 104 points or 0.4% and the S&P500 index lost 0.8% -the first declines in 8 trading sessions. And the Nasdaq index fell by 185 points or 1.7%.

There are hopes that Congress can settle on a job relief package. On Saturday US President Donald Trump signed executive orders and memorandums aimed at unemployment benefits & payroll taxes until the more concrete stimulus bill could be passed.

ASX set to start the week with solid gains.

Sellers have pushed the sharemarket lower on Friday after the RBA predicted that the economy will take longer to recover from the COVID-19 pandemic compared to earlier forecasts.

US lawmakers pledged to keep working toward a virus relief package and US President Trump said he could act unilaterally on some measures. Sentiment was also boosted by Labor Department numbers which showed the first fall in jobless claims in three weeks.

Talks between the White House and Democrats in Congress on a new coronavirus relief package are apparently making progress, although the sides remain far apart. Shares in Walt Disney rose by 8.8% after recording a surprise quarterly profit.

Investors closely monitored efforts in Washington to negotiate a new virus relief package. Brent crude oil prices rose to the highest level since March 6, supporting shares of Exxon Mobil (+2.9%) and Chevron (+2%). American International Group shares tumbled 7.5% after posting a US$7.9 billion loss.

Shares in Microsoft rose 5.6% after saying it would push ahead with talks to buy the US operations of Chinese-owned TikTok. Shares in ADT surged 56.6% on news that Alphabet’s Google was buying a nearly 7% stake in the home security firm for $450 million. The Dow Jones index finished higher by 236 points or 0.9%. The S&P500 index rose by 0.7%. And the Nasdaq index climbed 157.5 points or 1.5%. to fresh record highs.

Aussie shares have recouped this morning’s 1 percent decline, with the ASX 200 up by 0.06 percent to 5,931.2 at lunch. Earlier in the day, the local market hit a five-week low.

The share price for Apple rose by 10.5%, Facebook shares rose 8.2%, shares in Amazon rose 3.7% but Alphabet (Google) shares lost 3.3%. The Dow Jones index finished higher by 115 points or 0.4%. The S&P500 index rose by 0.8%. And the Nasdaq index climbed 157.5 points or 1.5%. Over the week the Dow fell 0.15%; the S&P 500 gained 1.7% and the Nasdaq rose by 3.7%. Over the month: Dow rose 2.4%; S&P rose 5.5%; and Nasdaq rose 6.8%.

The S&P500 and Dow Jones indexes were lower after the release of economic data which painted a worrying picture of the US economy. President Donald Trump floated the possibility of delaying the November 3 US presidential election, unnerving investors.

Congress continued to wrangle over a US$1 trillion support package for jobseekers. But comments from the Fed chair soothed investor nerves. Shares in Advanced Micro Devices rose by 12.5% after the chipmaker raised its full-year revenue forecast.

Investors watched progress by Congress to come up with a coronavirus aid package. Investors also awaited the Federal Reserve decision to be announced on Wednesday. Economic data was mixed.

Local shares were boosted by a solid lead from Wall Street where major US tech names helped to lift major indices. The daily COVID-19 infection rate in Victoria fell from yesterday’s record high but still remained elevated at 384 in the past 24 hours