The US markets, after witnessing lack of direction throughout the session, managed to keep their head above water on Friday. With the upward move, the markets extended the recovery from the sell-off seen in early trading on Thursday. The strength seen at the close of trading may have partly reflected bargain hunting following the notable pullback seen earlier this week. Nonetheless, traders largely seemed reluctant to make any significant moves as earnings from some of the biggest US technology companies will take center stage next week, giving investors a chance to re-evaluate the sector’s health. Meanwhile, a bright spot was provided by Whirlpool Corporation. The stock rose 1.1 per cent to $140.76 after the US manufacturer of washers, dryers and other major home appliances agreed to buy a 60 per cent stake in its smaller Italian rival Indesit Company SpA for about $1 billion. Despite the gains on the day, the major averages all moved lower for the week. The Nasdaq tumbled by 1.6 percent, while the Dow and the S&P 500 dropped by 0.7 percent and 0.9 percent, respectively.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 28.74 points or 0.17 percent to 16,943.81, the Nasdaq rose 19.29 points or 0.44 percent to 4,415.49 and the S&P 500 was up by 2.89 points or 0.15 percent at 1,967.57.
Indian ADRs closed mostly in red on Friday; Infosys was down 1.43%, ICICI Bank was down by 0.87%, HDFC Bank was down 0.53% and Tata Motors was down 0.22%. On the other hand Dr. Reddy’s Lab was up 0.89%.