US markets closed mostly lower; S&P ekes out some gains

25 Jul 2014 Evaluate

The US markets closed mostly lower on Thursday, while the S&P 500 closed at an all-time high for the 27th time this year. The main benchmarks traded in a narrow range throughout the session, as investors processed a deluge of earnings reports and mixed economic data. Investors are also weighing the threat of new European Union sanctions targeting Russia over the Krelmin’s actions in Ukraine. On the economy front, the Markit Economics flash manufacturing purchasing managers index for the US fell to a 56.3 reading in July from a four-year high of 57.3 in June. The index, similar in design to the Institute for Supply Management manufacturing index, is at its lowest level in three months. Job creation slid to its lowest level since last September, which reflects concerns that current sales growth may not be sustained. New export orders were also subdued. The flash index is based on 85% to 90% of typical monthly responses. The sales pace of new single-family homes dropped in June to a three-month low that may add to worries over the housing market’s recovery. The sales of new single-family homes fell 8.1% in June to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 406,000, with drops across the country. New-home sales in June were down 11.5% from a year earlier.

However, the number of people who applied for regular state unemployment-insurance benefits in the week that ended July 19 tumbled by 19,000 to 284,000 -- the lowest level since February 2006 -- signaling that companies have further slowed down the pace of layoffs and are letting go of few workers. The average of new claims over the past month declined by 7,250 and stood at 302,000 -- the lowest level since May 2007. The continuing claims in the week that ended July 12 dropped by 8,000 to a seasonally adjusted 2.5 million -- the lowest level since June 2007. Continuing claims reflect the number of people already receiving benefits.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 2.83 points or 0.02 percent to 17,083.80, Nasdaq was down by 1.59 points or 0.04 percent to 4,472.11, while the S&P 500 was up by 0.97 points or 0.05 percent at 1,987.98.

Indian ADRs closed mostly in red on Thursday; Dr. Reddy’s Lab was down 0.81%, Tata Motors was down 0.67% and Wipro was down by 0.36%. On the flip side, ICICI Bank was up by 0.65% and Infosys was up 0.28%.

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