US markets closed higher; S&P edges to fresh record

22 May 2015 Evaluate

The US markets closed higher on Thursday, sending the S&P 500 to a fresh record. Investors mostly brushed off a flurry of weaker-than-expected economic data a day after minutes from Federal Reserve’s last meeting signaled a June interest-rate hike was unlikely. On the economy front, the US economy performed below trend in April but not as bad as the previous month, according to the Chicago Fed’s national activity index released. The index edged up to negative 0.15 from negative 0.36 in March, and the three-month average edged to negative 0.23 from negative 0.27. The index is a weighted average of 85 indicators of national economic activity, and when the three-month average moves below negative 0.7, there’s an increasing likelihood a recession has started. Initial jobless claims - a proxy for layoffs - rose by 10,000 to a seasonally adjusted 274,000 in the week ended May 16. Although they hit a four-week high, new claims are still 16% lower compared to a year ago and remain near a 15-year bottom amid the lowest rate of layoffs on record. The average of new claims over the past month, a more accurate gauge of labor-market trends, fell by 5,500 to 266,250 to touch the lowest level since April 2000.

Meanwhile, two readings of manufacturing sentiment dipped in early May, further signals that the factory sector is still not improving after a weak first quarter. The Philadelphia Fed reported its manufacturing index fell to a weaker-than-expected reading of 6.7 in May from 7.5 in April, marking the fifth straight month of a modest single-digit growth. Markit reported its flash manufacturing purchasing managers index fell to 53.8 in May from 54.1 in April. The sales price of existing homes raced higher last month, with annual growth reaching the fastest pace since January 2014. The National Association of Realtors reported that the median price of an existing home rose to $219,400 in April, up 8.9% from the prior year. The number of existing homes available for sale dropped almost 1% over the past year. The sales pace for used homes fell 3.3% in April to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 5.04 million, pulling back from a jump higher in March.

On the other hand, the Leading Economic Index rose 0.7% in April, indicating the US is still expanding despite a first-quarter freeze. However, the growth of the LEI does not support a significant strengthening in the economic outlook at this time. The coincident index, which measures current conditions, edged up 0.2% in April. The lagging index increased 0.1%. The LEI is a weighted gauge of 10 indicators designed to signal business-cycle peaks and valleys.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 0.34 points to 18,285.74, Nasdaq was up by 19.05 points or 0.38 percent to 5,090.79 while, S&P 500 was higher by 4.97 points or 0.23 percent to 2,130.82.

The Indian ADRs closed mostly in red on Thursday; HDFC Bank was udown0.62%, Dr. Reddy’s Lab was down 0.26%, Wipro was down by 0.24% and Infosys was down by 0.24%. On the other hand, Tata Motors was up by 0.24%.

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