• US equity markets fell, with both the S&P500 and Nasdaq logging their first decline in five sessions as coronavirus concerns weighed on sentiment - Dow fell -397-points or -1.51% The broader S&P500 shed -1.08%, with Energy (down -3.18%) and Financials (-2.07%) leading ten of the eleven primary sectors lower. Consumer Staples (up +1.01%) was the only primary sector to advance. Airlines (American Airlines Group Inc down -6.95% and United Airlines Holdings Inc -7.55%) and cruise operators (Carnival Corp down -6.66% and Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings Ltd -5.33%) were under pressure. NASDAQ settled -0.86% lower after carving out a fresh record intra-day high (10,518.98) earlier in the session. Amazon.com Inc fell -1.9%. There were reports that Walmart Inc (up +6.8%) is close to launching its membership programme, a direct competitor to Amazon’s Prime Service. Netflix Inc dipped -0.1% after touching a fresh record intra-day high (US$504.82) earlier in the session. Tesla Inc advanced for a sixth straight session, up +1.33% to US$1,389.86 and another record close. Morgan Stanley published a research note with a US$2,000 per share “bull case scenario” target price. Tesla’s market capitalisation has increased by ~US$150B in the past three months. In merger and acquisition (M&A) news, residential solar-panel installer Sunrun Inc announced a deal Monday night to acquire rival Vivint Solar Inc for ~US$3.2B including debt.
