US equity markets relinquished solid gains to settle lower after the country recorded its first confirmed case of the omicron variant of the coronavirus – the Dow staged a 983-point U-turn to settle -462-points or -1.34% lower at 34,022.04, unwinding an earlier +520-point/+1.5% rally and settling below its 200-day moving average (34,361.27) for the first time since July. Salesforce.Com Inc tumbled -11.74% after the customer relationship management company provided disappointing fourth quarter earnings per share (EPS) guidance after the close of the previous session. The broader S&P500 lost -1.18% to 4,513.04, closing below its 50-day moving average (4,539.32) for the first time since 13 October. Communication Services (down -1.98%) and Consumer Discretionary (-1.86%) both fell over >1.5% to lead ten of the eleven primary sectors lower, with seven sectors logging declines of over >1%. Utilities (up +0.16%) was the only primary sector to close in the black.  General Motors Co edged +0.33% higher after the automaker slightly raised its 2021 earnings guidance (to ~US14B from US$11.5B-to-US$13.5B previously) on strong pricing, resilient consumer demand and a stronger-than-expected supply of semiconductor chips. The Nasdaq dropped -1.83% after rallying as much as +1.8% earlier in the session. The small capitalisation Russell 2000 shed -2.18% to mark its first official correction since June of 2020. Some commentators also cited tax loss selling as a factor for the recent weakness.

Morgans AM: Thursday, 2 December 2021

Money News

Money News | 047102023 Dianne Colledge, Private Client Advisor at Morgans

Morgans is Australia's largest national full-service retail stockbroking and wealth management network with more than 240,000 client accounts, 500 authorised representatives and 950 employees operating from offices across all states and territories in Australia.

Morgans AM: Thursday, 2 December 2021

Morgans Financial Limited

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