The US markets closed higher on Friday, as fears of an interest-rate hike ebbed with the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq posting weekly gains, but the Dow Jones Industrial Average extended its losing streak for a fourth week. Friday’s gains follow a day of loss on Thursday, when worries that the Fed could hike interest rates in June sent markets lower in both the US and Europe. On the economy front, sales of previously-owned homes rose in April, continuing a recent strong streak of gains that confirms robust demand for homes remains despite a strained market. Existing-home sales rose 1.7% in April to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 5.45 million, the National Association of Realtors reported. In April, sales surged 12.1% in the Midwest, the most affordable region, and fell 1.7% in the West, the most expensive. The median price rose to $232,500 in April, up 6.3% compared to the same period in 2015. At the current sales pace, it would take 4.7 months to exhaust the current supply, well below the 6 months that’s considered a sign of a balanced market. A key economic measure increased in April, reflecting strength in housing and manufacturing. The Leading Economic Index rose to 0.6 percent in April, following no change in March, and a 0.1 percent increase in February. The most recent LEI, a closely followed barometer of economic health, beat consensus estimates.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 65.54 points or 0.38 percent to 17,500.94, Nasdaq gained 57.03 points or 1.21 percent to 4,769.56, while S&P 500 was up by 12.28 points or 0.60 percent to 2,052.32.
The Indian ADRs closed mostly in green; HDFC Bank was up 0.98%, Tata Motors was up 0.30%, Wipro was up 0.13% and Dr. Reddy’s Lab was up 0.11%. On the other hand, Infosys was down 0.01%.