US equity markets ticked higher amid some mixed reports around how corporates are managing inflationary pressures and supply chain issues - Dow gained +152-points or +0.43%, touching an all-time high of 35,669.69 earlier in the session. The broader S&P500 added +0.37% to log a sixth consecutive session advance, with Utilities (up +1.56%), Real Estate (+1.55%) and Health Care (+1.45%) all climbing over >1% and leading eight of the eleven primary sectors higher. Information Technology lagged with a -0.29% decline. The Nasdaq dipped -0.05%. The small capitalisation Russell 2000 rose +0.61%. In merger and acquisition (M&A) news, PayPal Holdings Inc fell -4.91% following reports that the company is in late-stage talks to buy social media company Pinterest, with a price of US$70 per share apparently mooted according to Bloomberg (which would value Pinterest at ~US$39B).
