US equity markets made a solid start to the third quarter, with the S&P500 scaling a fresh record high ahead of tonight’s key non-farm payrolls report - Dow up +131-points or +0.38% to 34,633.53, marking its fourth-highest close in history as it inches toward eclipsing its 7 May all-time closing high at 34,777.76. Chevron Corp was among the leading index performers following fresh gains on crude markets. The broader S&P500 logged its sixth consecutive all-time closing high (longest such streak since August 2020) and 35th record close of 2021, up +0.52% to 4,319.94. Energy (up +1.72%) and Utilities (+1.13%) rose over >1% to lead ten of the eleven primary sectors higher. Consumer Staples (down -0.28%) was the only primary sector to close in the red. The Nasdaq edged +0.13% higher to 14,522.38, just shy of its record settlement of 14,528.33. The small capitalisation Russell 2000 gained +0.81%. In merger and acquisition (M&A) news, MGM Resorts International rose +2.04% after announcing that it will buy the remaining 50% stake in its joint venture, CityCenter Holdings LLC, for US$2.125B from Infinity World Development.