The US markets closed mostly lower on Thursday, after economic reports from the US, China and the euro zone did little to curb concerns about the world economy. Reports showed euro-area services and manufacturing output fell to a 39- month low in September and China’s manufacturing probably contracted for an 11th month. In US, the Conference Board reported its leading economic index fell 0.1% in August, while a longer-term trend remained positive. The US economic growth is unlikely to change much in the near term, the Conference Board stated. Also, a closely followed report that measures the health of US manufacturers in the Philadelphia region showed that business continued to contract, but at a slower rate in September. The Philadelphia Federal Reserve’s index of business conditions rose to -1.9 in September from -7.0 in August. Separately, a slighter fewer Americans applied for unemployment benefits last week, but there appeared to be no improvement in hiring trends across the nation. Initial jobless claims dropped by 3,000 to a seasonally adjusted 382,000 in the week ended September 15. The elevated level of claims - a rough gauge of whether layoffs are rising or falling - exceeded the forecast of 375,000.
In Europe, euro zone private sector economy contracted for the twelfth time in the past 13 months in September despite downturn easing in Germany. The seasonally adjusted purchasing managers’ index for the manufacturing sector rose to a six-month high of 46 in September from 45.1 in August. The corresponding indicator for the service sector dropped to a 38-month low of 46 in September from 47.2 in August. Though, Spain managed to sell bonds more than targeted at lower yields. The Spanish debt auction was the second this week where investor’s demand exceeded the goal.
The Dow Jones industrial average gained 18.97 points or 0.14 percent to close at 13,596.90. The Standard & Poor's 500 lost 0.79 points or 0.05 percent to 1,460.26 and the Nasdaq composite inched down by 6.66 points or 0.21 percent to 3,175.96.
The Indian ADRs closed mixed, ICICI Bank was down by 0.22%, Sterlite Industries was down 0.21% and HDFC Bank was down by 0.19%. On the other hand, Infosys was up by 0.35% and Tata Motors was up 0.10%.
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