US markets posted modest gains on the heels of Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen's semi-annual Congressional testimony and on the eve of the second quarter corporate earnings season kicking into gear - Dow up +0.10% to a fresh record closing high and the broader S&P500 +0.19% (with Retail up +2.3% the leading sector). The NASDAQ rose +0.21%, with Snap rebounding +2.9%. Target (up +4.8%) breathed some welcome fresh air into the retail sector after providing some upbeat guidance, with the company anticipating a "modest increase" in same store sales (SSS) across over the quarter - much better than consensus analyst expectations for a -1.2% decline. Target's adjusted earnings are now expected to print "above the high end" of its previous target range of US$0.95c-to-US$1.15 a share, with chief executive officer CEO Brian Cornell saying the company had seen "additional, broad-based improvement in traffic and category sales trends in the second quarter, despite continued challenges in the competitive environment." Second-quarter earnings season kicks off in earnest tonight AEST, with all of JPMorgans, Wells Fargo and Citigroup slated to post numbers before the opening bell.
