US equity markets rallied and settled near their session highs - Dow up +344-points or +1.01% . The broader S&P500 gained +1.12%, with Consumer Discretionary (up +2.51%) and Information Technology (+1.59%) leading nine of the eleven primary sectors higher. Utilities (down -0.17%) and Financials (-0.08%) were the only primary sectors to close in the red. Airlines got a boost from Delta Air Lines’ solid quarterly result, with American Airlines Group Inc up +10.62% and Southwest Airlines Co +7.54%. Costco Wholesale Corp (up +1.67%) announced after the closing bell that it had approved a quarterly payout of 90 cents a share, or US$3.60 a year, up from 79 cents a quarter, or US$3.16 a year. The Nasdaq +2.03%, with chipmakers rebounding. Nvidia Corp rose +3.25%, Advanced Micro Devices Inc +2.78% and Qualcomm Inc +3.24%. PayPal Inc dropped -2.85% following an announcement from Walmart Inc (on Tuesday (12 April) that it had hired PayPal executive John Rainey as its new chief financial officer (CFO). The small capitalisation Russell 2000 gained +1.92%. Gap Inc rose +8.23% after a report from Activist Insight speculating the clothing retailer could be a potential activist target.
