Morgans AM: Wednesday, 25 May 2022

Morgans Financial Limited

Technology stocks once again weighed on US equity markets - Dow added +48-points or +0.15%. McDonald’s Corp (up +2.74%), Verizon Communications Inc (+2.03%) and International Business Machines (IBM) Corp (+2.01%) all added more than 2%.The broader S&P500 lost -0.81%, with Communication Services (down -3.70%) and Consumer Discretionary (-2.58%) leading six of the eleven primary sectors lower. More defensive sectors outperformed overnight, with Utilities up +2.01%, Consumer Staples +1.66% and Real Estate +1.21%. The Nasdaq shed -2.28% to 11,264.45, logging its lowest close since 3 November, 2020 and extending its calendar year-to-date loss to -28%. The technology-centric index sits ~30% below its record 19 November, 2021 record closing high of 16,057.44. Snap Inc tumbled -43.08% after Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Evan Spiegel warned in a note to employees that emerged after the close of Monday’s (23 May) session that the company will miss its own targets for revenue and adjusted earnings in the current quarter, and will also slow hiring through the end of the year as it looks to manage expenses. Amazon.com Inc fell -3.21% to a fresh 52-week low (us$2,082.00), while Facebook Inc lost -7.62% and Google-parent Alphabet Inc -5.14%. Twitter Inc fell -5.55% to US$35.76, below the price at which Tesla Inc chief executive Elon Musk acquired his stake. According to a 13D filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission on 5 April, Mr Musk bought his 73.12M shares or 9.1% stake in the social media company at a weighted average price of US$36.157 per share. Twitter has fallen ~31.1% from its 25 April close of US$51.70, the day the company agreed to be acquired by Mr Musk for US$54.20 per share. The small capitalisation Russell 2000 lost -1.56%. Wendy's Co jumped 17% in after-hours trading after its largest shareholder, Trian Fund Management LP, said it is looking at potential transactions to acquire control of the fast-food restaurant chain. Trian Fund Management LP owns ~19.4% of the company, according to the filings.