The US markets surged on Monday after Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke signaled the central bank is committed to a policy that’s helped stocks rally for three years. Investors also speculated that European Union will increase the size of its bailout fund. However, ahead of the opening bell, Bernanke stated that it’s not yet certain the recent pace of improvement in the nation’s labor market will be sustained, noting a still-high unemployment rate and the large number of people who have been out of work for more than six months. Further improvements could be supported by continued accommodative policies, he added.
The markets added broad gains after the National Association of Realtors stated its pending sales index fell to 96.5% last month from 97.0% in January, although it's still 9.2 percentage points above its year-ago level. It was still higher than a year ago.
The European markets ended higher supported by a surprisingly strong reading in the German Ifo business-climate index. The German business confidence unexpectedly rose in March. The Munich-based Ifo institute stated its business climate index, increased to 109.8 from a revised 109.7 in February. Besides, EU Economic and Monetary Affairs Commissioner Olli Rehn stated he’s confident ministers will resolve their differences on providing more bailout funding.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed higher by 160.90 points, or 1.23 percent, at 13,241.60. The S&P 500 gained 19.40 points, or 1.39 percent, at 1,416.51, while the Nasdaq was up by 54.65 points, or 1.78 percent, at 3,122.57.
Indian ADRs closed mixed on Monday, Infosys Technologies was up 0.38%, Dr. Reddy’s Lab was up 0.32% and HDFC Bank was up 0.27%. On the flip side, ICICI Bank was down 0.70% and Sterlite Industries was down 0.25%.
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