US equity markets retreated as Washington lawmakers continued to struggle to agree on a deal on a fresh coronavirus stimulus package ahead of a Tuesday deadline that would make a relief package possible ahead of the 3 November elections - Dow down -411-points or -1.44, unwinding an earlier rally of over >200-points. Intel Corp rose +0.8% after The Wall Street Journal reported the company was near to a deal to sell its memory-chip business for $10 billion. The broader S&P500 dropped -1.63%, with Energy (down -2.10%) and Information Technology (-1.88%) leading all eleven primary sectors into the red. ConocoPhillips shed 3.2% after it confirmed reports from last week that it would buy Concho Resources Inc in an all-stock deal valued at US$9.7B. Both the Dow and S&P500 logged their worst session since 23 September. Nasdaq fell -1.61%, recording its sharpest single-session drop since 2 October and the first five-day losing streak since August 2019. Apple Inc (down -2.55%), Microsoft Corp (2.48%)and Amazon.com Inc (-2.0%) all fell more than >2% Zoom Video Communications Inc closed +1.67% higher, touching a record high of $588.84.