US equity markets opened the week on a positive footing, maintain the momentum that saw the benchmark indices record their strongest weekly gains of the year last week - Dow advanced for a fifth consecutive session, gaining +237-points or +0.58% to 40,896.53. The 30-stock index closed 0.73% below its record closing high (41,198.08) set on 17 July. Intel Corp (up +3.11%) and McDonald’s Corp (+3.25%) both rose over >3% to be the leading Dow components overnight.