US equity markets little changed as investors weighed a combination of higher rates, possible stimulus and political turmoil - Dow added +60-points or +0.19% at 31,069, just shy of last Friday’s (8 January) record closing high (31,097.97). Goldman Sachs Group Inc (up +2.85%) and JPMorgan Chase & Co (+1.57%) among the leading index performers. The broader S&P500 eked out a +0.04% rise, with the more cyclical sectors (including Energy up +3.5%, Materials +1.35% and Financials +1.06%) the leading performers. Communication Services was the worst performing primary sector with a -1.50% decline. The Nasdaq settled +0.28% higher despite falls for a number of big technology names including Facebook Inc (down -2.24%), Google parent Alphabet Inc (-1.14%) and Microsoft Corp (-1.18%). The small capitalisation Russell 2000 index once again outperformed with a +1.77% rally to a fresh record closing high (2,127.96). In merger and acquisition (M&A) news, Visa Inc (down -1.89%) has abandoned its US$5.3B takeover of Silicon Valley start-up Plaid about two months after the Department of Justice filed an antitrust lawsuit on grounds that it would limit competition in the payments industry.
