The US markets closed mostly higher on Wednesday, as strong results from companies like Apple and Delta pushed the S&P 500 to close at a record. Investors seemed to have brushed off news that two Ukrainian fighter jets were shot down near where Malaysia Airlines Flight MH17 was downed, as well as continued ground attacks on Gaza. The data calendar was empty for Wednesday, leaving investors to fix their attention on corporate earnings. Meanwhile, the International Monetary Fund issued its second downward revision for the US economy in two months, cutting its growth expectations for 2014 to 1.7% and warning that unrealistic market expectations could spell losses for investors. The cut, which puts the fund’s forecast below the Federal Reserve’s recent downward revision and makes it the IMF’s weakest annual forecast since the end of the 2009 recession, reflects the sharpness of the economy’s first-quarter contraction. But it also illustrates lingering unease over the soundness of the US recovery.
Moreover, the fund’s latest prognosis is lower than the most pessimistic number issued by Fed officials in June, 1.9%, and far below the central range predicted by bank policy makers. That means IMF forecasts for unemployment and inflation are also much softer than the Fed’s June outlook. The IMF forecasts US economic growth will accelerate in the rest of this year and next to between 3% and 3.5%.
The Nasdaq gained 17.68 points or 0.40 percent to 4,473.70, the S&P 500 was up by 3.48 points or 0.18 percent at 1,987.01, while Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 26.91 points or 0.16 percent to 17,086.63.
Indian ADRs closed mixed on Wednesday; Infosys was up 1.18%, Wipro was up 0.17% and Dr. Reddy’s Lab was up 0.08%. On the flip side, ICICI Bank was down by 0.93% and Tata Motors was down 0.44%.