US equity markets rallied and set fresh records, buoyed by another round of positive news on the COVID-19 vaccine front - Dow rose +104-points or +0.35% . Dow Inc (up +2.52%), Johnson & Johnson (+1.73%) and 3M Co (+1.36%) were among the best-performing Dow stocks, all rising more than >1%. However, Boeing Co fell -0.67% after company data showed the planemaker lost another 63 orders for its newly ungrounded 737 MAX jet in November. The broader S&P500 added +0.28% to 3,702.25, the indices first settlement above >3,700. Energy (up +1.57%) returned to the top of the primary sector leaderboard, leading six of the eleven key sectors higher. The technology-centric Nasdaq rose +0.48% to 12,582.77. Tesla Inc reversed course and settled +1.27% higher after the electric-car maker unveiled a US$5B capital raise, its second such move in three months. Both the S&P500 and Nasdaq carved out fresh record closing highs. The small capitalisation Russell 2000 index outperformed with a +1.4% rise and is up ~30% since 23 September.
