US markets failed to defend early gains, with the benchmark indices settling with modest losses as investors digested the latest round of posturing on the US-China trade front - Dow eased -14-points or -0.05%, erasing an earlier gain of ~186-points to snap a six session winning streak. The broader S&P500 dipped -0.03%, unwinding an earlier +0.8% gain. Industrials (down -0.90%) was the key laggard sector as Raytheon Co fell -5.1%. The NASDAQ settled unchanged. Broadcom Inc gained 1.2% after the company disclosed a two-year deal with Apple Inc (+1.16%) to provide components. Equity markets received an initial boost from news that Chinese authorities would allow local governments use special purpose bond issuances to finance infrastructure projects. In merger and acquisition (M&A) news, private-equity giant Apollo Global Management LLC (up +0.3%) will acquire the online photo sharing company Shutterfly Inc (+0.90%) in an all-cash deal worth $51 a share, valuing the company at $2.1 billion. Elsewhere, CVS Health Corp fell 1.9% after the New York Post reported that a federal judge appears to be nearing a surprise move to block CVS’ US$69B acquisition of Aetna, completed last year. Ten state attorneys general filed a lawsuit to block the proposed merger of T-Mobile US Inc (down -1.58) and Sprint Corp (-5.9%) as federal antitrust officials were still reviewing the more than $26bn deal. In US-China trade headlines, US Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross claimed Chinese tech giants Huawei and ZTE both presented national security threats. Separately, President Trump claimed the US was at a disadvantage compared to other major currencies as other central banks continue to keep interest rates lower than the Federal Reserve.
