US equity markets rallied as investors continued to comb through the latest batch of corporate earnings releases, and after a stronger-than-expected fourth quarter gross domestic product (GDP) print - Dow rose +206-points or +0.61%, The broader S&P500 advanced +1.10% to 4,060.43 and a near two month high, with the Energy sector (up +3.32%), Consumer Discretionary (+2.03%), Communication Services (+1.65%) and Information Technology (+1.61%) all climbing over >1.5% and leading ten of the eleven primary sectors higher. More defensive sectors underperformed, with Consumer Staples (down -0.28%) the only primary sector to settle in the red. Tesla Inc jumped +10.97% after reporting a reported a mixed fourth quarter result after the close of the previous session. Chevron Corp rose +4.86% after announcing a US$75B stock buyback programme and a dividend hike (to US$1.51 per share from US$1.42) after the closing bell of Wednesday’s (25 January) session. The Nasdaq rallied +1.76%. The small capitalisation Russell 2000 gained +0.57%.
