US equity markets advanced, getting a boost in the final hour of trading after CNBC reported that the Republican party are considering extending the enhanced unemployment insurance benefit albeit at a dramatically reduced level of US$400 per month (down from US$600) through the rest of the year - Dow up +165-points or +0.62% to 27,005.84 and its highest close since 9 June. Pfizer Inc gained +5.1% and those of BioNTech SE +13.72% after the companies said they will receive US$1.95B from the U.S. government to produce at least 1M doses of their experimental COVID-19 vaccine if it receives approval or emergency use authorization from the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). The broader S&P500 advanced for a fourth straight session, up +0.57% . NASDAQ edged +0.22% higher. Advanced Micro Devices rose +8.4% to settle at an all-time high (US$61.79). In merger and acquisition (M&A) headlines, Dell Technologies Inc (up +1.15%) is exploring options for its $50 billion stake in cloud computing company VMWare Inc (up +0.56%), according to the Wall Street Journal quoting people familiar with the matter.
