Another round of fresh record closing highs for all three benchmark US equity indices amid better-than-expected earnings reports ahead of a Federal Reserve policy statement tomorrow morning AEST - Dow up +139-points or +0.39% at 36,052.63, settling above 36,000 for the first time. It was 71 trading days since the Dow last cleared a 1,000-point milestone, marking the longest stretch between milestones since the stretch of 218 trading days between the Dow’s move between 29,000 and 30,000 completed in November of last year, according to Dow Jones Market Data. The close above 36,000 marks the Dow’s sixth 1,000-point milestone of 2021, the most ever seen in a single year. Salesforce.com Inc. (up +0.06%) has been the biggest contributor to the Dow’s rise since 35,000, while Visa Inc (down-1.56%) has been the biggest drag. The broader S&P500 rose +0.37% to 4,630.65. Materials (up +1.10%) led nine of the eleven primary sectors higher, with Energy (down -1.01%) and Consumer Discretionary (-0.62%) the only primary sectors to close in the red. Telsa Inc fell -3.03% after Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Elon Musk questioned the factors driving the recent rally for the electric vehicle maker that has seen the company’s market capitalisation surge past US$1 trillion in market capitalisation since an announcement on 25 October that Hertz Global Holdings Inc (up +2.66%) will by 100K Model 3 vehicles. Mr Musk tweeted ““If any of this is based on Hertz, I’d like to emphasise that no contract has been signed yet,” adding “Tesla has far more demand than production, therefore we will only sell cars to Hertz for the same margin as to consumers.” Separately, Tesla is recalling about 11,700 2017 to 2021 Model S, Model 3 and Model X vehicles, and 2020 to 2021 Model Y vehicles, because a communication error with the software may cause unexpected activation of the emergency brake system, according to a notice filed with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. The technology-centric Nasdaq added +0.34%. Nikkei reported that Apple Inc (up +0.71%) has cut back production of iPad tablets to allocate more components to the iPhone 13 amid signs that the global chip supply crunch may be hitting the company harder than previously indicated. Chipmaker Nvidia Corp rose +2.22% to usurp Warren Buffet’s investment vehicle Berkshire Hathaway Inc (up 0.59%) as the seventh largest US company by market capitalisation (with its market cap rising to ~US$660B). Nvidia has gained almost US$530B in market value off its pandemic low set 16 March, 2020, according to Dow Jones Market Data. It marked the first time since December 2019 that all three benchmark indices logged record closing highs for three straight sessions, according to Dow Jones Market Data. The small capitalisation Russell 2000 edged +0.16% higher to an all time high of 2,361.86. Bed Bath & Beyond Inc skyrocketed over >75% in the extended session after the retailer announced a partnership to have some of its “most sought-after” baby and home items available at Kroger Co.’s (+0.62%) stores and on-line and said it was ahead of its share buyback schedule.