US equity markets mixed as strong earnings from some technology heavyweights competed with persistent concerns around the banking sector - Dow fell -229-points or -0.68%, unwinding an earlier gain of over >100-points. Home Depot Inc (down -2.79%), Honeywell International (-2.58%) and Merck & Co Inc (-2.66%) all declined over >2.5%. The broader S&P500 eased -0.38%, with Utilities (down -2.37%) leading ten of the eleven primary sectors lower. Information Technology was the sole standout performer with a +1.78% gain. The Nasdaq rose +0.47%, paring an earlier rally of ~1.4%. Microsoft Corp rallied +7.24% after the software giant released first quarter earnings per share (EPS) and revenue after the close of the previous session that topped Wall Street’s estimates, underpinned by strong Cloud demand. The company ell narrowly short of topping its daily record for market-capitalisation gains, adding +US$148.34B in market cap overnight – just shy of the company’s record one-day market-cap haul of US$150.37B achieved 13 March, 2020. It also marked the seventh-largest daily increase in market value for a U.S. company, according to Dow Jones Market Data. Microsoft also shrugged off news that the U.K.’s Competition and Markets Authority would prohibit the company from merging with Activision Blizzard Inc (down -11.45%), a decision Microsoft plans to appeal. Google parent Alphabet Inc slipped -0.15% after trading in positive territory for most of the session despite the Google parent posting better-than-expected first quarter EPS after the close of the previous session. The small capitalisation Russell 2000 lost -0.89%.
