US equity markets extended their strong start to the month and quarter - Dow rallied +825-points or +2.80%, with Boeing Co (up +5.92%) and Goldman Sachs Group Inc (+5.25%) alone contributing over >150-points in gains. The broader S&P500 jumped +3.06%, logging its best two-day gain (+5.65%) since April 2020. Energy (up +4.34%) led all eleven primary sectors higher for a second consecutive session, with Financials (+3.79%) and Consumer Discretionary (3.56%) both advancing over >3.5%. The rally comes after three straight quarters of declines for the S&P 500 - the longest quarterly losing streak since 2008. Exxon Mobil Corp estimates that changes in liquid prices will have a negative effect of between US$1.4B to US$1.8B in the third quarter compared with second-quarter results, according to a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The oil and gas company also forecast a favourable effect of US$1.8B to US$2.2B on results for the recent quarter due to changes in gas prices, compared with the second quarter. Exxon Mobil is slated to release its third quarter result on 28 October. The technology-centric Nasdaq climbed +3.32%. Tesla Inc settled +2.90% higher, pulling back from an earlier session rally of as much as +6.2% following the release of a letter filed with the SEC in which the electric vehicle maker's chief executive, Elon Musk, proposed moving forward with his acquisition of Twitter Inc (up +22.24%) on the original terms (including the US$54.20 per share bid price). Amazon.com Inc (up +4.50%) is implementing a hiring freeze on the corporate side of its retail business for the rest of the year, according to a New York Times report, becoming the latest company to pause hiring plans amid growing concerns about an economic downturn. Meta Platforms Inc (up +1.20%), which owns Facebook and Instagram, is reportedly planning to reduce its own headcount amid fears over what the economy might look like in the coming months. The small capitalisation Russell 2000 outperformed with a +3.91% gain. Some traders suggested some of last week’s selling pressure may have been driven by quarter-end rebalancing, which has now abated.
