• Equity Markets: Equities traded higher yesterday, as growing hopes for interest-rate cuts extended traders renewed optimism into the Thanksgiving holiday. The S&P500 and Nasdaq rose +0.69% and +0.82% respectively. Europe rose +1.04%. In the US, nine sectors were in positive territory with 72% of stocks ending higher. Utilities (+1.32%) and IT (+1.27%) were best, while Communication Services (-0.49%) and Health Care (-0.25%) were weakest. Broadcom rose (+3.26%) after Goldman Sachs reaffirmed a Buy rating on the stock and raised the price target from $380 to $435. Oracle gained (+4.02%) as Deutsche Bank believes its business with OpenAI is currently not priced in by the market. In Europe, all sectors were in positive territory with 76% of stocks ending higher. IT (+2.91%) and Financials (+1.45%) were best, while Consumer Staples (+0.38%) and Communication Services (+0.10%) gained the least. ASML jumped (+5.70%) after Morgan Stanley named the company its top pick among European semiconductor stocks and set a price target of €1,000, pointing to a strong customer demand pipeline from Samsung and SK Hynix and profit margins that are expected to remain steady
• Macro: In the US, orders for durable goods rose by 0.5% in September matching market expectations, slowing from the previous 3.0% increase.  Initial jobless claims for the week fell slightly to 216k (225k est). MNI Chicago PMI fell to 36.3 (43.6 est), to its lowest level since May 2024.In Europe, Germany Consumer Confidence came in at -23.2 (vs -23.5 est). In the UK, Rachel Reeves increased the government’s fiscal buffer to £22 billion in her latest budget, financing the move through £29.8 billion in new taxes, including charges on gambling and high-end property.Today, the US stock markets will be closed for Thanksgiving holiday. From central banks, the ECB Villeroy and Guindos, as well as the BOE's Greene will be speaking.   
• Stocks: Flutter Entertainment: (Overweight PT $293 +46% Upside): Commentary relating to increases in tax rates for gambling companies in the UK budget yesterday.
• Debt: UK Gilts rallied yesterday after Chancellor Reeves announced a smaller than expected fiscal consolidation, bringing the 10-year yield to its 2025 lows of c. 4.40%.

• Asset Allocation
• Focus Feature: Economist Alan McQuaid takes a look into the state of the economy, both at home and abroad as we head into the second quarter of the year.
• Wealth Management: Michael Foley explores estate planning and the benefits of a bare trust.
• Analyst Conviction List: The investment case for our preferred names.
• The Fund Edit: Latest update on our range of investment funds, ETFs and trusts.
• Ethical Investing: Green Effects providing sustainable investment returns.
• Corporate Finance News: David Lawlor spotlights some of the key trends impacting global real estate investment following the MIPIM 2023 event, while Myles Dwyer takes a look at what’s driving growth at Farra Marine.

Opportunities this week:

• Kerry Group (Overweight PT: €111.69 Upside 47%): Recap on Kerry Group Investor Day in Naas.
• CRH (Overweight PT: $102.80 Upside 15.8%): Recap on latest Investor Day and positive medium term outlook.
• Supermarket Income REIT (Overweight PT: 90P Upside 13.3%): Commentary on meeting with senior management team last week.