The US markets closed higher on Monday, sending the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index to its biggest gain in two weeks, after data showed some improvement in the economy. The Commerce Department reported that retail sales rose a seasonally adjusted 1.1% in September. Americans ratcheted up their spending again in September, buying everything from back-to-school supplies to new autos to the latest version of the iPhone. Consumer spending accounts for more than two-thirds of the US economy, so the higher level of retail sales suggests the growth in third quarter could end up somewhat stronger than expected. Also, manufacturing activity in the New York region, while not rebounding as much as expected, still improved from September. The manufacturers in the New York region stated that business conditions continued to deteriorate for a third straight month in October, according to a report released by the Federal Reserve Bank of New York. The Empire state index rose to negative 6.2 in October from negative 10.4 in September, which was the weakest reading for the factories gauge in nearly two years.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 95.38 points, or 0.72 percent, to close at 13,424.20, the S&P 500 finished up by 11.54 points, or 0.81 percent at 1440.13, while the Nasdaq ended higher by 20.07 points, or 0.66 percent to settle at 3064.18.
Indian ADRs closed mostly in green on Monday, ICICI Bank was up by 0.50%, HDFC Bank was up 0.16% and Tata Communications was up 0.07%. On the other hand, Tata Motors was down by 0.54% and Dr. Reddy’s Lab was down 0.18%.