US markets ended the Friday’s trade slightly in green as traders opted to buy beaten-down but fundamentally strong stocks. Gains remained capped as market participants remained on sidelines ahead of reports on retail sales, industrial production, and producer and consumer price inflation, to be released next week. Traders took some encouragement with Fed Chair Janet Yellen saying late on Thursday the U.S. economy was on ‘a solid course’. A substantial rebound by the price of crude oil helped to provide some support for the markets on the day. Crude oil for May delivery surged up $2.26 to $39.52 a barrel after sliding $0.49 to $37.26 a barrel in the previous session. The rebound by the price of crude oil came as Russian Energy Minister Alexander Novak said he hopes oil producing nations will agree to an output freeze at a meeting later this month. Meanwhile, New York Fed President William Dudley said he believes a cautious and gradual approach to policy normalization is appropriate. Dudley said downside risks have diminished since earlier this year but noted there continues to be significant uncertainty about how economic growth prospects abroad will affect the U.S. economic outlook.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 35 points or 0.20 percent to 17,576.96, Nasdaq rose 5.69 points or 0.05 percent to 4,850.69 and S&P 500 was up by 5.69 points or 0.28 percent to 2,047.60.
The Indian ADRs closed mixed; Tata Motors was up 0.35%, ICICI Bank was up 0.10% and Dr. Reddy’s Lab was up by 0.03%. On the other hand, Wipro was down by 0.07%, Infosys was down 0.06% and HDFC Bank was down 0.02%.