Strong quarterly earnings results and a pause in the rise of US Treasury yields drive US equity markets sharply higher - Dow rallied +239-points or +0.99% . The broader S&P500 +1.04%, with nine of the eleven primary sectors advancing headed by Technology (up +2.3%). The Telecommunications sector sank -3.2%, with AT&T tumbling -6% after the mobile and entertainment company reported first quarter earnings (adjusted earnings per share of US$0.85c versus consensus forecasts of US$0.87c) and sales (US$38.0B versus consensus US$39.3B) that fell short of expectations NASDAQ +1.64%, with Facebook (up +9.1%) igniting the rally after posting first quarter numbers late Wednesday that comfortably exceeded consensus expectations. Finally, the US trade deficit in goods narrowed 10.3% to $68B last month.
