The US markets closed higher on Friday, with all three major indexes closing at record high. The euphoria surrounding President Trump’s proposed economic policies - fueled by optimism around the prospect of tax cuts and increased infrastructure spending - have helped to push US stocks to all-time highs even as some of the enthusiasm had faded in recent days. The sentiment on Wall Street generally points to more upside for stocks once investors have a clearer picture of Trump's plans for tax reform and the health-care overhaul even as the market goes through periodic corrections. The stock and bond markets will be closed on Monday for the Presidents Day holiday. On the economy front, the US leading economic index had its second strong increase since the election and if the trend continues it could point to acceleration in economic growth. The leading economic index for the US rose 0.6% in January after a 0.5% gain in December. That’s the fastest pace since June 2015. Among the 10 indicators that make up the Conference Board’s gauge, eight made positive contributions in January, led by the interest-rate spread, building permits and average weekly jobless claims. The coincident index, which measures current conditions, rose 0.1% in January, while the lagging index advanced by 0.3%.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 4.28 points or 0.02 percent to 20,624.05, the Nasdaq was up 23.68 points or 0.41 percent to 5,838.58, while S&P 500 gained 3.94 points or 0.17 percent to 2,351.16.
The Indian ADRs closed mostly in red; HDFC Bank was down 0.20%, Wipro was down 0.14% and Dr. Reddy’s Lab was down 0.12%. On the other hand, Tata Motors was up 0.41% and ICICI Bank was up 0.05%.