US equity markets jumped out of the gates to open 2020, with the benchmark indices logging another round of record highs and building on the best year for the S&P500 and Nasdaq since 2013 - Dow up +330-points or +1.16% (to 28,868.80), with Apple Inc a leading index performer, gaining +2.3% to another record all-time high of US$300.35 after rallying +86% in 2019. Boeing Co closed 2.3% higher despite Reuters reporting that Airbus SE (+1.66%) has seized the crown of the world’s largest plane maker for the first time since 2011 after delivering a forecast-beating 863 aircraft in 2019. The broader S&P500 +0.84% (to 3,257.85). The technology-centric NASDAQ rose +1.32% (to 9,092.20), with Advanced Micro Devices Inc (up +7.1% to a record high of US$49.10) buoyed by a broker upgrade. All three benchmark indices logged fresh record intra-day and closing highs. The S&P500 rose +28.9% in 2019, the broader index’s best annual performance since 2013 (when it gained +29.6%). The Dow climbed +22.3% in 2019 to record its best year since 2017, while the Nasdaq jumped +35.23% to settle with its best yearly advance since 2013.
