Equities in the U.S. soar with the S&P 500 reaching fresh highs off the back of improving employment figures. This, as tech stocks continue to push the Nasdaq to new levels. Washington takes aim at the Reddit retail investor frenzy with U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen vowing to review the episode with market regulators while hailing Wall Street’s resilience in the face of the rally. In vaccine news, Johnson & Johnson is set to achieve FDA emergency Covid jab approval. The drug maker may have up to 100m doses available by June. Meanwhile, the global microchip shortage has forced Ford and Stellantis to scale back production. Ford has warned the move may knock $2.5bn off its 2021 revenues while several German brands are considering building up stockpiles of the components. And a new IPO in Hong Kong is making waves. Chinese video media company Kuaishou lists strongly on the HKEX with shares almost tripling on its first day of trade.   

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