The benchmark US indices edged their way to fresh record highs, with the Dow and S&P 500 settling above 44,000 and 6,000 respectively for the first time ever - Dow gained +304-points or +0.69% to 44,293.13. Salesforce Inc (up +6.14%) was the leading performer in the 30-stock index, while Goldman Sachs Group Inc (+2.22%) and Honeywell International Inc (+2.62%) gained over >2%.

The broader S&P500 edged +0.10% higher to 6,001.35, recording its fifth consecutive session gain and longest winning streak since mid-September. Consumer Discretionary (up +1.75%) and Financials (+1.41%) leading six of the eleven primary sectors higher. Information Technology (down -0.89%) sat at the foot of the primary sector leaderboard overnight. Bristol Myers Squibb Co rallied +10.55% after rival pharmaceutical company Abbvie Inc (down -12.58%) reported a disappointing Phase 2 trial result of an experimental schizophrenia drug purchased as part of an US$8.7B acquisition last year. In September, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved Bristol Myers Squibb’s schizophrenia drug Cobenfy. Monolithic Power Systems Inc dropped -14.97% after analysts at Edgewater Research warned that Nvidia Corp (-1.60%) has cancelled orders with the power solutions company.