US market shakes off as Apple declines and Greek talks lumber

16 Feb 2012 Evaluate

US stocks declined on Wednesday for the third session in four, with market direction largely dictated by the swings in shares of Apple, the largest company in the world. Moreover, worries from Greece kept investors nervous through the session. It is trying to secure a second international bailout so it won’t default on its debt next month and rattle the global financial system. On the US economy front, industrial production for January was unexpectedly soft owing to weakness in mining and utilities. On the housing front, the data for February showed improvement as the pace of activity rose by 4 points month on month. The empire state manufacturing survey showed an uptick in February. However, investors’ eying for weekly jobless claims which is expected to come out today. The street is expecting an increase in the numbers.

Industrial production was unchanged in January, as a gain of 0.7 percent in manufacturing was offset by declines in mining and utilities. Within manufacturing, the index for motor vehicles and parts jumped 6.8 percent and the index for other manufacturing industries increased 0.3 percent. The output of utilities fell 2.5 percent, as demand for heating was held down by temperatures that moved further above seasonal norms; the output of mines declined 1.8 percent. 

The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed lower by 97.33 points, or 0.76 percent, at 12,780.95. The S&P 500 declined by 7.27 points, or 0.54 percent, at 1,343.23, while the Nasdaq was down by 16 points, or 0.55 percent, at 2,915.83.

Indian ADRs closed higher on Wednesday, Tata Motors was up 0.34%, Infosys Technologies was up 1.56%, HDFC Bank was up 0.35%, Wipro was up 0.06% and Tata Communications was up by 0.13%.

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