Some soft corporate earnings and economic releases saw US equity markets settle lower on Friday (22 January). The Dow fell -179 points or -0.57% . International Business Machines (IBM) Corp dropped -9.91% after posting a disappointing fourth quarter result after the closing bell of Thursday’s (21 January) session, with revenue down for a fourth straight quarter (down -6% on an annualised basis). Intel Corp fell -9.29% a day after the chipmaker posted a better-than-expected fourth quarter result, with some investors concerned about the competitive challenges from the likes of Nvidia Corp (down -1.12%) and Advanced Micro Devices (up +1.38%) confronting incoming Chief Executive Office (CEO) Pat Gelsinger. The broader S&P500 lost -0.30%, pulling back from the record closing set in the previous session. Financials (down -0.72%), Energy (-0.50%) and Industrials (-0.49%) led eight of the eleven primary sectors lower. Real Estate (up +0.31%), Utilities (+0.17%) and Communication Services (+0.12%) were the only primary sectors to advance. The Nasdaq inched +0.09% higher to log a fresh record closing high (13,543.06). Apple Inc rose +%, extending its weekly rise to +9.4%. The small capitalisation Russell 2000 also logged a fresh record closing high, rallying +1.3% to 2,168.76. For the holiday-shortened week, the Dow gained +0.59%, S&P500 +1.94% and the Nasdaq +4.19%. The Russell 2000 logged a +2.2% weekly gain.