The US markets closed mostly higher on Tuesday, as falling oil prices overshadowed strong earnings from giant retailers. The geopolitical worries also put pressure on stocks late in the afternoon. On the economy front, the cost of consumer goods rose in October for the first time in three months owing to higher costs for rent and medical care, but overall US inflation remained extremely low. The consumer price index, or cost of living increased by a seasonally adjusted 0.2% in October. Even that increase may be overstated. The government’s formula for making seasonal adjustments showed a 0.3% advance in energy prices last month even though the cost of gasoline actually fell. Food prices, meanwhile, rose just 0.1%, marking the smallest gain in five months. As a result, another measure of consumer inflation that omits up-and-down food and energy prices rose 0.2%. So-called core prices have advanced 1.9% in the past 12 months.
Meanwhile, industrial production fell 0.2% in October but the details looked better. After falling for the past two months, manufacturing output advanced 0.4% in October. Overall production was held down by a drop in mining and utility output. Capacity utilization fell to 77.5% in October from an upwardly revised 77.7%, in line with expectations. A closely-watched index of home builder sentiment pulled back from a 10-year high in November. The National Association of Home Builders/Wells Fargo housing market index dipped 3 points from an upwardly-revised reading of 65. The gauge of current conditions fell 3 points to 67, while the index of expectations for the upcoming six months fell 5 points to 70. The index of buyer traffic rose 1 point to 48.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 6.49 points or 0.04 percent to 17,489.50, Nasdaq was up 1.40 points or 0.03 percent 4,986.02, while the S&P 500 lost 2.75 points or 0.13 percent to 2,050.44.
Indian ADRs ended mostly in green, HDFC Bank was up 0.42%, Tata Motors was up 0.20% and ICICI Bank was up 0.07%. On the other hand, Dr. Reddy’s Lab was down by 0.80% and Wipro was down 0.06%.
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