Morgans AM - Monday, 25 May 2026

US equity markets rallied on Friday (22 May) ahead of the holiday long weekend albeit finished off their best levels of the session – Dow rose +294-points or +0.58% to log a fresh record closing high of 50,579.70 for a second consecutive session after scaling a record intra-day peak (50,830.24). Merck & Co rallied +5.64% to be the leading performer in the 30-stock index following a report by STAT News that its lung cancer treatment being developed with China-based Kelun-Biotech, sacituzumab tirumotecan, cut tumour progression risk by 65% and also yielded a survival benefit in a Phase 3 study conducted in China. The drug was used on patients in combination with Merck’s Keytruda, the company’s immunotherapy used to treat a wide variety of cancers. However, Nvidia Corp (down -1.9%) declined for a second session running following the release of its first quarter result after the close last Wednesday (20 May).