An apparent thawing in trade relations between the US and China helped lift US equity markets, with Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin saying that the Trump administration would delay implementation of tariffs on Chinese goods and “put the trade war on hold” while working out details of a deal between the countries - Dow jumped +298-points or +1.21% to close above >25,000 points for the first time since 13 March, with Boeing (up +3.6%) the leading contributor. The broader S&P500 +0.74%, with all 11 primary sectors advancing led by Industrials (up +1.50%). The technology-centric NASDAQ +0.53%, with Tesla Inc up +2.8% following a bullish broker note that said the gross margins on the company's Model 3 are set to "positively surprise" and raised their target price to US$500 per share. Chip-makers also traded strongly after Micron (up +3.9%) raised its fiscal third quarter guidance because of a "healthy" semiconductor industry and announced that its board had approved plans for a buyback of up to US$10B. The small capitalisation Russell 2000 index rose +0.7% to book its fourth consecutive record closing high. There was a host of merger and acquisition (M&A) news overnight, including General Electric (up +2.0%) announcing that it will merge its transportation business with rail equipment maker Wabtec in a deal worth US$11.1B. Adobe Systems Inc rose ~1% in extended trading after the company announced it would buy e-commerce services provider Magento Commerce from private equity firm Permira for US$1.68B in cash, its biggest deal in nearly a decade. Fifth Third Bancorp agreed to buy MB Financial Inc (up +12.9%) for US$4.7B in cash and stock.
