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US stock market report – Amazon stuns, Twitter crunched

US markets struggled closing out the week, the Dow Jones falling 0.5%, S&P 500 0.7% and the Nasdaq the hardest hit, down nearly 1.0%.

It was a flat result in what was an important week for earnings results, but another in a long line of record months.

Through April, the Dow managed to deliver another positive month, finishing 2.2% higher with the Nasdaq at 3.6% and the S&P 500 benefitting from the likes of Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL), Amazon (NASDAQ: AMZN) and Berkshire Hathaway (NYSE: BRK.B) to jump 4%.

Reflation trade ahead

The weakness on Friday came as comments from the Dallas Federal Reserve flagged concerns about inflation and suggests that the bond-buying program should be slowed sooner than expected.

The broad-based nature of the reflation trade is on full show with the S&P 500 achieving a rare record with 95% of its 500 constituents trading above their 200-day moving average.

Amazon stuns

Amazon once again stunned the bears, delivering a 44% increase in revenue in the first quarter to US$108.5 billion, with management suggesting the surge to online sales is set to continue.

Management project the next quarter to improve further, with sales between US$110 and $116 billion forecast.

Amazon Web Services, the cloud computing business, delivered 32% sales growth of its own whilst the group’s advertising network saw revenue nearly double, up 77%, albeit off a low base.

Despite beating expectations, Amazon shares finished the day broadly flat.

US stock market movers

Here’s how other popular US stocks closed out the week on Friday:

Back home on the ASX, the S&P/ASX 200 (ASX: XJO) is tipped to edge lower at the open on Monday. For all the latest, check out Rask Media’s ASX morning report.

The Golden Rules of Investing

We might be experts in retirement, but with combined financial advice experience of 35+ years, we’ve nearly seen it all. 

In mid-2023, our senior team at Wattle Partners Financial Planning put the finishing touches on a brand-new report “The Golden Rules of Investing“.

In this free report, we outline the key principles that determine all of the portfolio construction and investment decisions of Wattle Partners. Collated over decades, this paper should be seen as a work-in-progress, constantly under review in light of the ever-evolving nature of markets. 

You’ll find the free report on my Author page. Simply click the button below to view the Golden Rules.

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At the time of publishing, the author of this article does not have a financial or commercial interest in any of the companies mentioned.

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Wattle Partners is a financial advice firm, servicing clients around Australia, specialising in retirement planning (pre and post retirement). 

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