US equity markets settled modest losses, with the S&P500 and Nasdaq pulling back from the record closing highs set in Monday’s (25 January) session on what was a big day on the corporate earnings calendar - Dow eased -23-points or -0.07%, logging its fourth consecutive session decline after paring an earlier rally of over >150-points. The broader S&P500 slipped -0.15%, after hitting a fresh record intra-day high (3,870.90). The Nasdaq dipped -0.06%. The small capitalisation Russell 2000 index fell -0.%. The session was again marked by wild swings in some heavily shorted stocks, including omnichannel video game retailer GameStop Corp (up +92.71% in regular trading and climbing a further +43.80 in the extended session), Bed Bath and Beyond Inc (up +20.18% in regular trading and up over >15% in the extended session) and consumer robot company iRobot Corp (+9.14%). Both the S&P500 and Nasdaq settled at fresh record closing highs on Monday night AEST (25 January) after a choppy session ahead of the busiest week on US fourth quarter earnings calendar - Dow slipped -37-points or -0.12% . Caterpillar Inc and American Express Corp were the weakest performers on the Dow, falling -2.4% and -3.9% respectively. The broader S&P500 rose +0.36% to 3,855.36, recovering from an earlier decline of over >1%. Utilities (up +1.95%), Consumer Staples (+0.91%) and Information Technology (+0.88%) led eight on the eleven primary sectors higher. Energy (down -1.06%) and Financials (-0.76%) were the laggard sectors. The Nasdaq gained +0.69% to 13,635.99 after also clinching an intraday record (13,728.98 near the open of Monday’s session). The Russell 2000 index eased -0.25%. Moderna Inc rose +12.2% after it announced that it was testing an experimental booster shot to increase the immune response against a coronavirus variant first found in South Africa. In broader stock moves, AMC Entertainment Holdings Inc soared +25.93% after announcing that it had raised US$917M, meaning “any talk of an imminent bankruptcy for AMC is completely off the table” according to Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Adam Aron.
