US equity markets little changed following what was ultimately a muted response from investors to the latest round of strong corporate results - Dow slipped 11-points or -0.05% and the broader S&P500 inched +0.11% higher despite Energy falling -1.2% to be comfortably the worst performer among the 11 primary sectors. NASDAQ eked out a +0.02% rise, erasing an earlier session gain of more than >1% as technology heavyweights Apple (down -1.2%), Netflix (-0.71%) and Alphabet (-1.1%) all pulled back. Amazon Inc (up +3.6%) traded to a record intra-day high (US$1,638.10) shortly after the open following their better-than-expected first quarter result after the markets' close last Thursday before finishing below its closing record (US$1,598.39). President Trump and German Chancellor Angela Merkel found little common ground in their meeting in Washington. Chancellor Merkel said in a statement on Sunday (29 April) that she and the leaders of France and Britain will push back if the Trump administration doesn't permanently exempt them from new import taxes on aluminium and steel. The EU's temporary exemption from from the import taxes expires tomorrow (1 May). US Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin is due to lead a delegation to China this week for two-day talks intended to ease trade tensions. All three benchmark indices finished lower for the week - Down down 0.6%, S&P500 -0.01% and Nasdaq -0.4%.
