US markets closed higher; snaps 5-day losing streak

17 Jan 2015 Evaluate

The US markets closed higher on Friday, as a rally in oil prices and calmer currency markets provided a rare boost of confidence. The main benchmarks broke a five-day losing streak, but still ended the fourth-straight week with losses. Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis President James Bullard stated that the surprising weakness of inflation right now doesn’t necessarily support the US central bank keeping interest rates at their current near-zero levels. Bullard’s comments came in remarks that tackled the conflicting economic environment that now faces central bankers. While growth and employment have been clearly on the mend and support a case for the Fed raising rates, the weakness of inflation relative to the Fed’s 2% target argues against making borrowing costs more restrictive.

On the economy front, a gauge of consumer sentiment vaulted up to an 11-year high this month, racing past expectations, led by dropping gas prices and a strengthening labor market. The preliminary January reading on the University of Michigan’s consumer-sentiment index increased to 98.2 - the highest level since January 2004 - from a final December reading of 93.6. A gauge of consumers’ current expectations rose to 108.3 in January from 104.8 in December, while a barometer of their expectations increased to 91.6 from 86.4.

Meanwhile, industrial production declined 0.1% in December, marking the first drop since August, after unusually warm weather quelled demand for heating. Excluding utilities, industrial production rose 0.7%, as manufacturing output rose 0.3%. Compared to a year ago, industrial production climbed 4.9%. Capacity utilization fell in December to 79.7% from 80% in November.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 190.86 points or 1.10 percent, to 17,511.57, the Nasdaq Composite was up by 63.56 points or 1.39 percent at 4,634.38 while S&P 500 gained 26.75 points or 1.34 percent, to close at 2,019.42.

Indian ADRs closed mostly in green on Friday; HDFC Bank was up by 1.34%, Wipro was up by 1.06%, Dr. Reddy’s Lab was up by 1.00%, Infosys was up by 0.40% and ICICI Bank was up by 0.13%.

About MoneyWorks4Me

MoneyWorks4Me is a SEBI-registered Investment Adviser (IA) dedicated to helping investors build long-term wealth through transparent, research-driven, conflict-free guidance. Founded in 2008, we started our journey as a Research Analyst (RA), providing deep fundamental analysis, intrinsic value insights, and long-term investing frameworks for Indian equities. In 2017, we transitioned to a full-fledged SEBI-registered Investment Adviser, strengthening our commitment to acting as a fiduciary—always putting the investor’s interest first.

Our Vision

To become India’s most trusted, research-powered fiduciary advisory platform—where every investor, regardless of experience, can make calm, confident, and well-reasoned investment decisions.

What Makes MoneyWorks4Me Different

Fiduciary-first advisory model.
As SEBI-registered IAs, we are legally and ethically bound to act in the best interests of our clients. We do not sell or distribute any financial products. This ensures our guidance is 100% unbiased and conflict-free.
Deep fundamental research + robust valuation discipline.
Built on more than 15 years of equity research, our framework combines quality assessment, intrinsic value estimation, and a sensible margin-of-safety approach.
Process—not predictions.
We don’t rely on guesswork or market timing. Instead, we focus on asset allocation, risk management, and long-term compounding.
Technology + Human Intelligence.
We believe a combination of both is essential for investing success. We constantly innovate and upgrade in-house tools, financial X-rays, and portfolio analytics so that our team of analysts and advisors are equipped with the best.
Partner with Clients.
We follow a DIWM (Do-It-With-Me) approach where we partner clients in setting goals, financial planning, educating on our investing process and share decision-enabling resources transparently with our clients who retain control on execution.

Our Approach: Ensuring compounding work its magic on client portfolio.

MoneyWorks4Me ensures this through:

Investing in stocks, mutual funds, debt, and gold
Quality-at-Reasonable-Price way of investing in stocks
Constructing Direct Stock Portfolios with Core, Booster, and Amplifier stocks
A Mutual Fund Portfolio that delivers consistent out-performance and meaningful diversification (low overlap)
Periodic review and rebalancing
Clear Buy-Sell-Hold, and Position-sizing frameworks

Name of the IA registered with SEBI:	The Alchemists Ark Pvt. Ltd.
Logo:
Trade/Brand Name of IA:	MoneyWorks4Me Investment Advisers
Brand Logo:
SEBI Registration Number:	INA000013323 Validity – May 16, 2019 – Perpetual
Registration:	Non-Individual
BSE Enlistment No:	1187
Address:	B-101, Signet Corner Building, Balewadi Phata, Baner, Pune, Maharashtra 411045
Compliance officer Details:	Name: Shrikant Jagtap Email: shrikant.jagtap@moneyworks4me.com Telephone: +919860359463 Address: Same as IA
Grievance Officer Details:	Name: Mukta Vaze Email: mukta.vaze@moneyworks4me.com Telephone: +91 98609 19463 Address: Same as IA
Principal Officer Details:	Name: Atharva Bhide Email: atharva.bhide@moneyworks4me.com Telephone: +91 91758 99463 Address: Same as IA
Standard Warning:	Investment in securities market are subject to market risks. Read all the related documents carefully before investing.
Disclaimer:	Registration granted by SEBI, enlistment with exchange and certification from NISM in no way guarantee performance of the intermediary or provide any assurance of returns to investors.