US equity markets closed out the month and quarter on a positive note - Dow up +97-points or +0.36% The broader S&P500 rose +0.50% and enters the fourth quarter with its biggest year-to-date gain (up +18.74%) in more than two decades. The NASDAQ gained +0.75%, with Apple Inc (up +2.4%) buoyed by a J.P. Morgan lifting their target price on the company by ~9% to US$265 per share and retaining their 'overweight' rating after raising their iPhone sales forecasts. The gain saw Apple recoup its trillion US dollar market capitalisation. U.S.-listed shares of Chinese tech firms Alibaba Group Holding Ltd (up +0.75%) and Baidu Inc (+1.53%) rebounded following the US Treasury Department’s denial that it was considering banning Chinese firms from U.S. exchanges. In corporate news, the parent of office-space sharing company WeWork, We Co. said that it would withdraw its planned initial public offering (IPO) for now. The company had filed for an IPO on 14 August but was forced to delay its plan to go public after investors raised concerns about losses, liabilities and valuations, leading co-Founder and CEO Adam Naumann to resign last week. For the month, the Dow gained +1.95%, S&P500 +1.72% and Nasdaq +0.46%. For the quarter, both the Dow and S&P500 gained +1.19% to log their third straight quarter of gains. The Nasdaq slipped -0.09%.
