US equity markets advanced albeit closed well off their best levels of the session as investors eyed the signing of the first phase of a multi-staged trade pact between China and the US - Dow up +91-points or +0.31% (to 29,030.55, off an intra-session peak of 29,127), closing above >29,000 for the first time. The gain marks the 40th trading day since its last milestone on 15 November, and the fastest such ascent for the Dow since January of 2018 when it took only eight trading sessions to close at 26,000. The broader S&P500 rose +0.19% (to 3,289.29) and a fresh record closing high but pared an earlier climb of ~0.5%. Retailer Target Corp slumped -6.6% after it missed its own expectations for 2019 holiday season sales after reporting a drop in online growth and demand for toys and electronics. The technology-centric NASDAQ edged +0.08% higher (to 9,258.79), closing just shy of a fresh record closing high after paring an earlier climb of as much as +0.5%. All three benchmark indices touched intraday record highs.