• US equity markets retreated, with the Dow and S&P500 ending a five session run of record closing highs amid concerns the spread of the delta variant of COVID may slow economic growth and following a softer-than-expected July retail sales report - Dow dropped -282-points or -0.79% . The broader S&P500 fell -0.71% a day after logging its 49th record closing high of 2021. Consumer Discretionary (down -2.31%) led seven of the eleven primary sectors lower, with Materials (down -1.21%) and Industrials (-1.06%) down over >1%. More defensive sectors outperformed once again, with Health Care up +1.12%. The Nasdaq shed -0.93% as Facebook Inc (down -2.21%), Amazon.com Inc (-1.73%), Apple Inc (-0.62%) and Google-parent Alphabet Inc (-1.16%) all closed lower. The small capitalisation Russell 2000 lost -1.19%.