US equity markets logged broad gains, buoyed by vaccine-related news and merger and acquisition (M&A) activity - Dow up +328-points or +1.18%, briefly trading back above >28,000. The broader S&P500 gained +1.27%, with Real Estate (up +2.16%) and Information Technology (+2.07%) leading all eleven primary sectors higher (and with seven of the eleven primary sectors logging gains of over >1%). Oracle Corp rose +4.32% after it was named a strategic partner for the U.S. operations of ByteDance-owned TikTok. Microsoft Corp (up +0.68%) was also seen as a front-runner in negotiations for a deal to own or operate the U.S. operations of TikTok but said Sunday (13 September) that its bid had been rejected by ByteDance. Airlines traded strongly (Delta Air Lines Inc up +3.53%, American Airlines Group Inc +2.39%) as data from the Transportation Security Administration showed that an average of 738,038 people went through TSA travel security checkpoints each day for the week ended 13 September. That was above the 715,145 daily average of the previous week, which includes most of the Labor Day holiday weekend, which tends to see a boost in travel demand. Citigroup Inc fell -5.59% after the Wall Street Journal reported that federal regulators (namely, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency and the Federal Reserve) are expected to reprimand the bank for its faulty risk management system, which works to detect problematic transactions, risky trades and other such issues, and that has apparently sped up retirement plans for Chief Executive Michael Corbat The technology-centric NASDAQ rose +1.87%, snapping a two session losing streak. Apple Inc rose +3.00%. Tesla Inc jumped +12.58%. However, Nikola Corp slumped -8.13% in extended trading (after gaining +11.39% in regular trading) following a Bloomberg News report that the Securities and Exchange Commission will examine the company after a short seller report. The company released a statement earlier in the session aimed at refuting accusations made by the short seller, saying that the report had “dozens” of inaccuracies and that it had contacted the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The small capitalisation Russell 2000 Index outperformed the major benchmarks with a +2.7% gain
