US equity markets settled with modest gains after the Federal Reserve struck a more dovish tone in its June policy statement and Chair Jerome Powell said that the case for easier monetary policy had strengthened - Dow up +38-points or +0.15%. The broader S&P500 added +0.30%, with the defensive Health Care (up +0.96%) and Utilities (+0.81%) sectors leading the modest advance. Materials (down -0.47%) and Energy (-0.22%) capped broader gains. Harley-Davison Inc slipped -0.2% higher after the motorbike maker said it was teaming up with a manufacturer in China, Qianjiang Motorcycle Co, to make its smallest bike in decades. Harley wants to sell half its bikes abroad by 2027, up from 42% in 2018, as domestic motorcycle sales to a shrinking base of aging customers continue to decline. The NASDAQ rose +0.42%. CBS Corp rose +1.1% following a report in The Wall Street Journal that the media giant is preparing an offer to buy Viacom Inc (+2.70%). On the US-China trade front, US Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer and Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin will meet with with China's vice premier and chief negotiator in the trade talks ahead of the G-20 summit in Japan next week (28-29 June).
