US equity markets rallied ahead of quarterly earnings releases from a number of technology majors after the closing bell, building on the strong gains in the previous session - Dow rallied +476-points or +1.57%, logging its best single day percentage gains since 16 November. The broader S&P500 rose +1.39% to 3,826.31, settling within 1% of its record closing high of 3,855.36. Tesla Inc gained+ 3.9% despite the electric car maker moving to recall roughly 135,000 Model S luxury sedans and Model X sport-utility vehicles over touch-screen failures, one of the electric-car maker’s largest-ever safety actions. The Nasdaq gained +1.56% to 13,612.78, withing touching distance of its record close of 13,635.99. The small capitalisation Russell 2000 index slipped -0.16%. In merger and acquisition (M&A) news, the Wall Street Journal reported that Kraft Heinz Co (down -0.27%) is nearing a deal to sell its Planters brand to Spam owner Hormel Foods Corp (up +3.90%) for ~US$3B. Uber Technologies Inc rose +7% after the ride-hailing company announced a deal to buy on-demand alcohol marketplace Drizly for US$1.1B in stock and cash.
