The US markets closed higher on Monday, but off their session highs, following the lead of European markets as polls showed support swinging back toward the UK remaining a member of the European Union ahead of a referendum. The gains were attributed to investors who have made bearish bets that stocks would continue to be pressured by Brexit fears now being caught flat-footed as surveys indicate UK voters may favor retaining their EU membership. The so-called Brexit vote is set for Thursday and investors have been following it closely for fear that Britain’s exit from Europe’s trading bloc could unsettle global markets. US central bank, Minneapolis Fed President Neel Kashkari stated that a vote by Britain to leave the European Union could have moderate direct effects on the US economy, but probably does not pose big financial risks. Kashkari added that his outlook is for continued moderate economic growth and inflation gradually returning to 2 percent target. He does not find it productive to say how many rate hikes he expects the Fed to be able to make this year.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average was up by 129.71 points or 0.73 percent to 17,804.87, Nasdaq added 36.87 points or 0.77 percent to 4,837.21, while S&P 500 gained 12.03 points or 0.58 percent to 2,083.25.
The Indian ADRs closed mostly in green; HDDFC Bank was up 1.05%, Tata Motors was up 0.84%, Dr. Reddy’s Lab was up 0.74% and Infosys was up 0.35%. On the other hand, ICICI Bank was down 0.05%.