• The Nasdaq rose 2.1% on Friday to close the session at 13,894 points.
• Moderna jumped 6% on application to FDA for a second booster shot.
• FedEx fell 4% on slightly missing analysts’ estimates for Q3 results.

The US markets closed last week with the best week across the key indices since 2020 as investors’ regain confidence in the ability of companies to deliver profits despite higher costs and increasing geopolitical uncertainty.

The Dow Jones rose 0.8% to finish the trading day up 274 points to close at 34,755 points.

The tech heavy NASDAQ rose 2.1% to finish the trading day up 279 points to close at 13,894 points with Facebook and Amazon gaining 4.16% and 2.55% respectively.

One bitcoin is worth US$41,286 going into the Asian trading day.

The Australian dollar is firm against the major currencies and is buying 74.09 US cents.

Shares in biotech company Moderna rose 6% on Friday after the company announced it is seeking FDA approval for a second COVID-19 booster shot for adults 18 years and older. Moderna’s application for the second booster covers significantly more people than Pfizer & BioNTech’s application which was submitted a week earlier for a second booster just for people aged over 65 years old.

FedEx shares dropped on Friday after the shipping and delivery company released third-quarter results that fell slightly short of expectations. For the period, FedEx reported an adjusted EPS of US$4.59/share and operating income of US$1.5bn, which fell short of analysts’ expectations of an EPS of US$4.65/share and income of US$1.6bn. FedEx said the slightly lower results were due to worker shortages amid the omicron COVID-19 outbreak.

And young adults and teenagers are increasingly ditching smartphones for ‘brick phones’ with no internet capability to prevent hours wasted scrolling on TikTok and other social media apps daily.