Morning Wrap: ASX 200 to rise, Apple declares record buyback, Macquarie reports 32% year-on-year profit fall

After two days of losses, the US market was back to its winning ways overnight led by Apple, which posted stronger-than-expected sales last quarter. Revenue fell but not by as much as the company had flagged analysts while profit also beat expectations.

On the home front, the shares of Macquarie Group will be in focus after it reported a 32% fall in year-over-year profits (not that $3.52 billion is anything to sneeze at).

• H2 FY24 net profit +49% vs H1 FY24

• International income is 66% of FY24 total income

• AUM +7% year-over-year to $938.3 billion

• Return on Equity (ROE) of 10.8%, well down from 16.9% in FY23

• Final ordinary dividend of $3.85 per share, total full year payout of $6.40 per share

Let's dive in.

S&P 500 SESSION CHART

A choppy grind higher, ending with a last minute uptick in buying. (Source: TradingView)

OVERNIGHT MARKETS

• Stocks end higher, Treasuries fall as investors eye earnings, interest rates

• Dow closes more than 300 points higher, S&P 500 posts first winning day in three

• Wall Street is confused and divided over how many times the Fed will cut rates this year

INTERNATIONAL STOCKS

• Apple climbs on revenue and profit beats, dividend hike and $110 billion share buyback

• Block’s stock shoots higher as Square parent boosts its earnings outlook

• DraftKings posts surge in revenue, hikes full-year sales guidance

• Coinbase sees $1 billion-plus Q1 profit on crypto-trading boom — but elevated costs also

• Cloudflare’s stock is tanking after revenue outlook disappoints investors

• Amgen expects data from weight-loss drug trial later this year

• Russian state-backed Gazprom plunges to first annual loss in 20 years as trade with Europe hit

CENTRAL BANKS

• Powell, Biden face the dilemma of having a US economy that is too strong to cut rates

• Stalled US inflation may turn out to be new trend, leaving inflation closer to 3% than the Fed's target of 2%

• Goldman Sachs economists still expect two rate cuts this year; calls Fed meeting mostly uneventful but dovish

• Bloomberg analysis of BOJ accounts signal Japan intervened for second time this week

• BoE rate split sees markets reduce rate cut expectations ahead of next week's meeting

• ECB's de Cos optimistic on inflation trajectory, but actual path may be bumpy

ECONOMY

• April jobs report expected to show 240,000 gain in US hiring, Jobless claims inch up to 208,000, with layoffs still extremely low

• US trade deficit hovers near highest level in almost a year

• US productivity slumps in first quarter

• OECD boosts forecasts for global growth outlook as US outperforms

• Swiss inflation comes in hotter than expected, hits four-month high

• Eurozone PMI shows ongoing downturn in manufacturing activity deepened in April

• South Korea PMI mixed as output, new orders grow but employment dips, South Korea April consumer inflation falls back to below 3.0%

• Taiwan April PMI shows return to expansion as demand improves

Companies trading ex-dividend: 

• Fri 3 May: None

Economic calendar (AEST):

• 7:00pm EUR – Unemployment rate

• 10:30pm USD – average hourly earnings, non-farm employment change, unemployment rate

• 11:45pm USD – Final services PMI

• 12:00am USD – ISM services PMI

This Morning Wrap was written by Hans Lee and Chris Conway.