Morgans AM: Friday, 20 May 2022

Morgans Financial Limited

US equity markets logged back-to-back declines - Dow down -237-points or -0.75% , unwinding an earlier rally of as much as +300-points. Cisco Systems Inc tumbled -13.73% after the technology bellwether reported third quarter revenue that fell short of consensus expectations and cut its full year forecasts after the close of the previous session. The broader S&P500 -0.58% to sit 18.6% below its record closing high set in early January and ~19% below its most recent intra-day peak. Consumer Staples (-1.98%) and Information Technology (-1.07%) both fell over >1% to lead eight of the eleven primary sectors lower. Materials sat atop the primary sector leaderboard with a +0.68% rise. The Nasdaq -0.26%. The small capitalisation Russell 2000 inched +0.08% higher. Harley-Davidson Inc tumbled 9.29% after the motorcycle maker said it would suspend all assembly and shipments for two weeks. The company said the suspension was for "an abundance of caution" following information provided by a third-party supplier regarding "a regulatory compliance matter relating to the supplier's component part." In merger and acquisition (M&A) news, Spirit Airlines Inc (%) said its board has unanimously determined that JetBlue Airways Corp.’s (%) US$30-per-share cash offer isn’t in the best interest of the airline and its shareholders, urging the latter to reject the tender launched by JetBlue earlier this week. Spirit had already reiterated earlier in May its support for the merger deal with Frontier Group Holdings Inc (%), that it had agreed before JetBlue made its offer.