US equity markets settled little changed overnight, struggling for direction as the first quarter corporate earnings season ramps up - Dow dipped -11-points or -0.03%, The broader S&P500 inched +0.09% higher, with Industrials (up +0.46%), Energy (+0.45%), Information Technology (+0.41%) and Materials (+0.40%) all up 0.4%+ and leading seven of the eleven primary sectors higher. The Nasdaq -0.04%. Meta Platforms Inc fell -0.44%, with Vox reporting that the company is expected to cut a further 4K jobs on Wednesday (19 April) in the latest round of layoffs. Meta Chief Executive Mark Zuckerberg has announced Meta’s intention to eliminate 10,000 jobs this northern hemisphere spring The small capitalisation Russell 2000 lost -0.40%.
