US equity markets retreated after a choppy session to open the week, with growth stocks under pressure following some downbeat activity data in China - Dow inched +27-points or +0.08% higher . McDonald’s Corp lost -0.41% after announcing plans to exit Russia that would see the fast food giant book a charge of US$1.2B-US$1.4B. Consumer Discretionary (down -2.12%) led seven of the eleven primary sectors lower. The broader S&P500 eased 0.32%, with earlier gains evaporating in the final hour of trading. The Energy sector (up +2.62%) touched its highest intra-day level since 2014, with Occidental Petroleum Corp up +5.68% and Marathon Oil Corp +3.63%. Eli Lilly and Co rose +2.66% after its drug Mounjaro was approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to treat Type 2 diabetes. The drug is also being investigated for potential use in the treatment of obesity and overweight. United Airlines Holdings Inc rose over >2.5% in after hours trading after the carrier issued an update on its second-quarter outlook, noting in a securities filing that ”the demand environment has continued to improve, resulting in a higher unit revenue outlook for the second quarter 2022.” The Nasdaq lost -1.20% to 11,662.79 and sit ~27% below its record close of 16,057.44 touched on 19 November, 2021. Twitter Inc fell -8.18% after Bloomberg reported that Elon Musk said a deal to buy the social media company at a lower price than his previously agreed US$44B was "not out of the question." Tesla Inc lost -5.88%. The small capitalisation Russell 2000 lost -0.52%. In merger and acquisition (M&A) news, Spirit Airlines Inc soared 13.49% after JetBlue Airways Corp (down -6.06%) said it launched a "fully financed" tender offer to buy all Spirit outstanding shares for US$30 each, representing a 76.7% premium to last Friday's (13 May) closing price of $16.98.
