Morgans AM: Wednesday, 22 March 2023

Morgans Financial Limited

US equity markets rallied as investors welcomed a renewed sense of calm following recent unrest in the banking sector - Dow rose +316-points or +0.98%. The broader S&P500 reclaimed the 4,000 mark, settling +1.30% higher at 4,002.87. It marked the indice’s first close above >4,000 since 6 March. Energy (up +3.45%) led eight of the eleven primary sectors higher, with Consumer Discretionary (+2.71%), Financials (+2.47%) and Communication Services (+2.45%) all rising over >2%. The more defensive sectors underperformed, with Utilities down -2.06%, Real Estate -0.66% and Consumer Staples -0.12%. Tesla Inc popped +7.82% after Moody’s upgraded Tesla to Baa3 rating from its junk-rated credit. Moody’s called the electric-vehicle maker the “foremost manufacturers of battery electric vehicles” and said the upgrade reflects Tesla’s prudent financial policy and management’s operational track record. The Nasdaq gained +1.58%. Nvidia Corp (up +1.15%) hosted its annual GTC developer conference overnight, with the chipmaker’s Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Jensen Huang announcing a wide-ranging set of partnerships and products that enable the latest wave of artificial intelligence (AI) services. Mr Huang said Nvidia’s “biggest collaboration” is its partnership with Google Cloud Platform. The small capitalisation Russell 2000 gained +1.88%.