US equity markets climbed as investors eyed moves to re-open the economy- Dow rallied +359-points or +1.51% (to 24,133.78), extending its gains into a fourth straight session and logging its first close above >24,000 since 17 April. JPMorgan Chase & Co (up +4.31%) and Walt Disney Co (+4.81%)were the best-performing Dow stocks, rising more than >4% each. Boeing Co rose +1.03% in extended trading after the company announced that it plans to reopen its Dreamliner factory in South Carolina in early May after it shut down operations there for nearly a month because of the Covid-19 pandemic. The broader S&P500 gained +1.47%,with Financials (up +3.61%) and Real Estate (+3.00%) leading all eleven primary sectors higher. The S&P500 has now recovered almost 30% from its March lows. General Motors Co recouped an earlier session decline to gain +2.28% after announcing that it would suspend its dividend and stock repurchases to preserve cash. The NASDAQ gained +1.11%. Tesla Inc fell -1.92% in the extended session after San Francisco Bay Area authorities extended the regional shelter-in-place orders through the end of May, quashing hopes that Tesla's Fremont, California factory would restart soon. Tesla stock ended the regular session up +10.15% following an earlier report that the factory, Tesla's only U.S. car-making plant, was readying a resumption of operations as the Bay Area's shutdown orders were due to expire next week. The small capitalisation Russell 2000 index outperformed with a +4% gain.
