US equity markets extended their rally to cap a strong week that saw a cooler-than-expected October inflation print fuel speculation that the Federal Reserve may slow the pace of monetary policy tightening - Dow edged +32-points or +0.10% higher. Walgreens Boots Alliance Inc jumped +7.2% after Deutsche Bank upgraded the stock to ‘buy’ from ‘hold’. Walt Disney Co (up +5.03%) plans to institute a targeted hiring freeze as well as some job cuts, according to an internal memo sent to executives on Friday (11 November). The news comes after Chief Financial Officer Christine McCarthy said during Disney’s earnings call last Tuesday (8 November) that the company was looking for ways to trim costs. The broader S&P500 rose +0.92% to 3,992.93, with Energy (up +3.06%), Communication Services (+2.47%) and Consumer Discretionary (+2.46%) all rising over >2% to lead six of the eleven primary sector higher. The more defensive Health Care (down -1.28%) and Utilities (-1.15%) sectors were the key laggards. The Nasdaq gained +1.88%, with Amazon.com Inc gaining +4.31% and Google parent Alphabet Inc +2.72%. The small capitalisation Russell 2000 added +0.79%.
