Morning Wrap: ASX 200 to rise, Dow Jones closes above 40,000 level for first time, Where investors are piling cash into

ASX 200 futures are trading 52 points lower, down -0.68% as of 8:30 am AEST.

It's set to be a quiet start to the week but you wouldn't know that looking at the price action. The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed above 40,000 for the first time ever last Friday - and sealed a five-week winning streak in the process. In fact, all time highs seem to be the norm for global equity markets over the last few years. Of the 20 largest stock markets in the world, 14 of them are at or near all-time highs.

It's not just stocks that people are piling into either. Corporate earnings are growing at their second-strongest quarterly pace in two years, leading the biggest investors to pile into corporate bonds.

But it's not a bubble, is it?

Let's dive in.

S&P 500 SESSION CHART

A buying flurry within the last two hours was enough to give the S&P 500 a small rise at the close. (Source: TradingView)

OVERNIGHT MARKETS

• Dow closes at record high above 40,000 to cinch a five-week winning streak

• European markets close slightly lower after snapping nine-day winning streak

• Treasury yields rise as investors weigh state of the economy

• Oil posts weekly gain on hopes of firmer demand

• China stimulus, U.S. rate cut bets lift gold, silver soars above $30 mark

• 14 of the world's 20 largest equity markets have hit recent record highs

• Bond investors piling into high-grade corporates as potential Fed rate cuts edge closer

INTERNATIONAL STOCKS

• Microsoft expected to showcase its AI projects at this week's Build developers' conference

• Amazon closing in on a deal to stream regular-season and playoff NBA games

• Corporate earnings seeing healthy growth, second-best pace over the past two years (Per-share earnings has climbed 7.3% in first quarter thus far but most importantly, earnings growth is broadening - per Bloomberg)

ECONOMY

• Soaring debt and deficits causing worry about threats to the economy and markets

• Federal debt is generating elevated levels of worry for Wall Street

• Executives in the consumer space warn of shoppers delaying big-ticket purchases

Trading ex-dividend this week:

• Amcor (AMC) - 21 May - $0.193

• Aneka Tambang (ATM) - 21 May -$0.048

• Orica Ltd (ORI) - 23 May - $0.19

• Aristocrat (ALL) - 23 May - $0.36

• Whitefield (WHF) - 24 May -$0.102

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