US markets celebrated the ninth anniversary of the current bull market last Friday (9 March) with a strong rally following the February US jobs report that smashed consensus expectations in terms of jobs growth, while wages growth remained relatively muted and kept inflationary fears in check - Dow soared +441-points or +1.77% to close back above >25,000 for the first time since 28 February. Goldman Sachs Group Inc rose +1.7% despite reports in The Wall Street Journal that Chief Executive Lloyd Blankfein was preparing to retire as early as the end of this year - a report Blankfein subsequently dismissed via Twitter. The broader S&P500 jumped +1.74%, with the financials, industrials and technology sectors all rallied more than >2%. The technology-centric NASDAQ surged +1.79% higher to a fresh record peak (7,560.81), usurping the previous record peak set back on 26 February. In geopolitical developments, President Trump has accepted an invitation to meet North Korean leader Kim Jong Un albeit the time and place of the meeting between the two leaders was yet to be determined. Separately, the New York Times reports that President Trump is strongly considering Christopher P. Lidell, a former executive at Microsoft and General Motors, to succeed Gary Cohen as the White House's chief economic adviser. For the week, Dow gained +3.25%, S&P500 +3.54% and Nasdaq +4.17% (to be up +9.52% year-to-date and ~12% higher than its February low).
