The US markets closed mostly lower on Wednesday, with the Dow industrials and the S&P 500 ending in negative territory in the wake of slumping crude-oil prices, erasing earlier gains for the major benchmarks, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq bucked the losing trend. A report on oil supplies published by the Energy Information Administration showed inventories declined by 600,000 barrels last week, much smaller than the 14.5 million barrel drop from the week before. The CBOE Volatility Index, which measures investors’ expectations for stock swings, jumped 18% to 17.85, its highest level since June 28. On the economy front, the cost of imported goods slipped 0.2% in August largely because of lower oil prices. The import price index fell last month for the first time since February. In the 12 months ending August 2016, import prices dropped 2.2%. Excluding fuel, import prices were flat. The price of US exports, meanwhile, sank 0.8% in August as the cost of farm crops posted the biggest drop in three years. Export prices are 2.4% lower versus a year ago. Imports have contributed to low U.S. inflation at a time when the Federal Reserve wants prices to rise.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 31.98 points or 0.18 percent to 18,034.77, S&P 500 was down 1.25 points or 0.06 percent to 2,125.77, while Nasdaq gained 18.51 points or 0.36 percent to 5,173.77.
The Indian ADRs closed mostly in green; Dr. Reddy’s Lab was up 0.42%, Tata Motors was up 0.30% and ICICI Bank was up 0.16%. On the other hand, HDFC Bank was down 0.16% and Infosys was down 0.11%.