Trade tensions between the US and China continued to weigh on US equity markets - Dow down -103-points or -0.41%, extending its losing streak into a fifth consecutive session and with Intel Corp (down -3.4%) the worst performing index constituent following a broker downgrade that cited increasing competition and slower sales growth in the company's data centre business. The Dow was down as much as -265-points shortly after the opening bell The broader S&P500 -0.21%, with a +1.1% rebound for the energy sector not enough to offset declines for consumer staples (-1.5%) and healthcare (-1%). NASDAQ eked out a +0.01% gain, recovering earlier losses as Amazon.com Inc (up +0.46%) hit a fresh all time intra-day (US$1,726.74) and closing high (US$1,723.79) . Chinese e-commerce retailer JD.com Inc rose +0.4% after Alphabet Inc's Google unit invested US$550M in the company in a move that will help both expand their retailing presence in Southeast Asia, the US and Europe. The small-capitalisation Russell 2000 index settled +0.5% higher at a fresh record closing high (1,692.46). Looking ahead, Oracle Corp and FedEx Corp are slated to report earnings tonight AEST.
