US markets gain on weak retail sales data

13 Mar 2015 Evaluate

The US markets closed higher on Thursday, recording the biggest gain in more than a month, as expectations for a rate hike were pushed back following disappointing data on retail sales. Disappointing monthly retail sales gave investors hope that the Fed will stay accommodative for longer, pushing expectations for the rate hike further in the year. Just one week after spiking to a 10-month high, the number of people applying for unemployment benefits sank below the key 300,000 mark in early March, a reassuring sign that the US labor market remains on the mend. Initial jobless claims fell by 36,000 to 289,000 in the seven days extending from March 1 to March 7, reversing a sharp uptick last month that was likely triggered by a spate of bad weather. New claims had jumped at the end of February to the highest level since last May. The nation’s economy is creating jobs at the fastest clip since the late 1990s and pushing down the unemployment rate toward 5%, though millions of Americans remain out of work.

Meanwhile, sales at US retailers fell in February for the third month in a row, a poor performance that can be partly blamed on bad weather but that also raises questions about whether the economy can grow much faster. Retail sales fell a seasonally adjusted 0.6% last month in the wake of even larger declines in January and December. The last time sales have fallen three straight months was in mid-2012. Although Americans increased spending in the fourth quarter at the fastest rate in four years, the nearly six-year-old economy recovery has been marked up sharp swings in consumer behavior. The federal government ran a budget deficit of $192 billion in February. That’s slightly less than the February 2014 deficit of $194 billion, and brings the government’s budget shortfall for the fiscal year to date to $387 billion. For the month, the government spent $332 billion, down 2% from a year ago. Total receipts were $139 billion in February, down 3% from February 2014. The government’s budget year runs from October through September.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 259.83 points or 1.47 percent to 17,895.22, Nasdaq was up by 43.35 points or 0.89 percent to 4,893.29 while, S&P 500 gained 25.71 points or 1.26 percent to 2,065.95.

The Indian ADRs closed in green on Thursday; HDFC Bank was up by 1.31%, Tata Motors was up by 1.05%, Infosys was up 0.60%, ICICI Bank was up by 0.24% and Dr. Reddy’s Lab was up 0.23%.

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