US equity markets rallied as rising inflation subsided, while the signing of a massive stimulus bill reinforced expectations of a strong economic recovery – Dow rose +189-points or +0.58%, paring an earlier climb of over >300 points that lifted the index to a fresh record intra-day peak (32,661.59). The broader S&P500 +1.04% to a fresh record closing high of 3,939.34, with Information Technology (up +2.12%) leading the primary sector gains. The Nasdaq +2.5%, with Facebook Inc (+3.39%), Alphabet Inc (+3.16%) and Netflix Inc (+3.67%) all advancing at least 3%. Chip stocks jumped sharply after China’s semiconductor trade association formed a new group to work with their U.S. counterparts to ease recent trade tensions between the two countries. Nvidia Corp (up +4.21%) and Advanced Micro Devices Inc (+4.79%) jumped more than 4% each. The small capitalisation Russell 2000 index rose +2.31%.
