US equity markets mixed - Dow rallied +122-points or +0.46% to a fresh record closing high (26,773.94) - its 14th for 2018 - with Boeing Co (up +1.07% and touching a record high of US$388.615), Caterpillar Inc (+1.67%) and Intel Corporation (+3.55%, its best day since March) were among the leading index performers. Walmart Inc rose +0.79%, with the company announcing plans to acquire women's e-retailer Eloquii However, the broader S&P500 dipped -0.04%, NASDAQ -0.47%, with Amazon.com Inc down -1.6% after the company announced it would raise its minimum wage to US$15 per hour for all US employees. Facebook Inc fell -1.91% after Deutsche Bank published a research note saying they are "starting to hear more cautious feedback" from advertisers and the company "seems on the defensive, particularly post last week's data breach disclosure and the recent press around shadow advertisers." Tesla Inc fell -3.12% despite reporting a strong third quarter for deliveries, with 835K vehicles produced - its biggest ever quarter for vehicle deliveries. The company sold 83,500 cars in the third quarter (versus a total of ~100K for all of 2017)The small capitalisation Russell 200 Index fell -1.1% and is down -2.75% to start October - it's worst two day start to October since 2009. Elsewhere in broader company news, Toys “R” Us Inc has canceled the much-anticipated bankruptcy auction for its brand name and other intellectual property assets. Instead, Toys “R” Us’s controlling lenders — the hedge funds that pulled the plug on the retailer’s reorganization earlier this year - intend to revive business behind the Toys “R” Us and Babies “R” Us brand names.
