US equity markets settled with modest gains after a choppy session, with the S&P500 logging yet another record closing high after Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell said policy makers would no longer pre-emptively hike interest rates to stave off inflation - Dow up +160-points or +0.57%, well off its session peak that saw the index up as much as +385-points or +1.36% and briefly turn positive for the year. Walmart Inc (up +%) and Travellers Companies Inc (+%) accounted for about a quarter of the index’s rally. The broader S&P500 gained +0.17% (to 3,484.55), briefly topping >3,500 for the first time at its session high (3,501.38). NetApp Inc rose 4% after it reported unexpected earnings and sales growth after the closing bell of the previous session. The technology-centric NASDAQ lost -0.34%, pulling back from a record high but touching a fresh intra-day peak (11,730.01) earlier in the session. Facebook Inc and Netflix Inc dropped -3.52% and -3.88% respectively. Amazon.com Inc (-1.22%), Google-parent Alphabet Inc (-1.09%) and Apple Inc (-1.2%) were all down more than 0.9%. Microsoft Corp bucked the negative trend, rising +2.46%.
