Fresh records for both the S&P500 and Nasdaq to kick off the historically tough trading month of September - Dow up +216-points or +0.76%. Walmart Inc rallied +6.29% after confirming it will launch its much-anticipated membership program on 15 September, looking to build on the strength of its grocery business and customers’ desire for more convenient ways to shop. Unlike its rival Amazon Prime, Walmart+ free shipping for every item. The broader S&P500 gained +0.75%, logging both record intra-day (3,528.03) and closing (3,526.65) highs. The technology-centric NASDAQ advanced +1.39% to fresh record closing high (11,939.67), touching a record intra-day high (11,945.72) earlier in the session. Apple Inc rallied +3.98%, buoyed by a number of Wall Street analysts hiking their target prices post the company’s 4-for-1 stock split and amid reports that the iPhone maker had asked suppliers to make at least 75M 5G phones for later this year Zoom Video Communications Inc soared +40.78% after posting another strong quarterly result after the close of the previous session that saw the company make as much money in the second quarter as it did in all of 2019, exceeding even the outsize expectations of Wall Street. The latest gains saw Zoom’s market capitalisation, at US$130B, usurp International Business Machines Corp’s (IBM). Tesla Inc (down -4.67%) was knocked lower as the electric vehicle manufacturer took advantage of the stock’s best monthly performance in seven years to raise more capital. Tesla disclosed in an 8-K filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission before Tuesday’s opening bell that it entered into an “equity distribution agreement” with a host of Wall Street firms to raise up to US$5B by selling shares from time to time, through an “at-the-market” program. The agreement can terminate the distribution agreement at any time, for any reason.
