US markets closed lower on weak economic reports

02 Apr 2015 Evaluate

The US market closed lower on Wednesday, as a batch of weaker-than-expected economic reports eroded confidence. The US manufacturing sector clearly caught a cold in the final months of winter. A closely followed survey of manufacturing executives known as ISM fell in March for the fifth straight month, hitting the lowest level since mid-2013. While harsh winter weather is partly to blame, the index has fallen every month since November in a sign that a strong dollar and perhaps more enduring factors are at fault. The index slipped to 51.5% from 52.9% in February and has fallen every month since November. As recently as last August the survey had stood at a three-year high of 58.1%. Outlays for US construction projects decreased 0.1% in February to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of $967.2 billion, led by the public sector. The government revised January’s decrease to 1.7%. Public-construction spending dropped 0.8% in February. Meanwhile, private-construction spending rose 0.2% in February, despite a 0.2% decrease for residential projects. There was a 0.5% gain for nonresidential projects.

On the other hand, private-sector employment gains continued in March but at a slower pace than in the prior month. Employers added 189,000 jobs last month. ADP revised February’s gain slightly to 214,000 from a prior estimate of 212,000. This is the lowest increase in the monthly ADP since January 2014. Markit’s final US Manufacturing Purchasing Managers’ Index for March rose to 55.7 - up from 55.1 in February. The latest survey indicated a robust and accelerated expansion of manufacturing production levels.

Meanwhile, Atlanta Federal Reserve bank president Dennis Lockhart stated that the United States remains on track for a likely interest rate hike in the June to September period, with a weak first quarter likely to give way to stronger growth. Lockhart added that he will be paying particular attention to employment indicators in coming weeks. Lockhart is considered a centrist on a Fed that has opened the door as of its June meeting to its first rate increase since 2006.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 77.94 points or 0.44 percent to 17,698.18, Nasdaq was down by 20.66 points or 0.42 percent to 4,880.23 while, S&P 500 was lower by 8.20 points or 0.40 percent to 2,059.69.

The Indian ADRs closed mostly mixed on Wednesday; Infosys was down 0.44%, Dr. Reddy’s Lab was down 0.36% and Wipro was down by 0.18%. On the other hand, Tata Motors was up 0.93% and HDFC Bank was up 0.59%.

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