Fresh record highs for both the Dow and S&P500 for a second consecutive session as inflation fears moderated following the latest data for July - Dow gained +220-points or +0.62% to 35,484.97 after also touching a record intra-day high of 35,501.16. Caterpillar Inc (up +3.55%) and Home Depot Inc (+1.67%) The broader S&P500 added +0.25% to 4.447.70, touching a record intra-day high of 4,449.44. Materials (up +1.42%), Industrials (+1.30%) and Financials (+1.17%) all rose over >1% to lead ten of the eleven primary sectors higher. Health Care (down -0.97%) was the only primary sector to close in the red. Southwest Airlines Co rose +1.43% despite the carrier saying slowing bookings and an increase in cancellations in August driven by the delta variant of the coronavirus means it is unlikely to be profitable in the third quarter. The Nasdaq slipped -0.16%. The small capitalisation Russell 2000 rose +0.49%. In merger and acquisition (M&A) news, Chesapeake Energy Corp (up +2.6%) announced that it has reached an agreement to acquire Vine Energy Inc (+1.95%) in a zero-premium cash-and-stock deal valued at ~US$2.2B. Shares of Chesapeake rose 2.6%, while Vine added 2%.
