US markets gain as jobless claims fell to six-week low

08 Mar 2013 Evaluate

The US markets edged higher on Thursday, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average closing at another record high after jobless claims fell to a six-week low. The markets have been on a roll on improving housing-market data and growth in corporate earnings, along with support from the Federal Reserve’s continuing policy of monetary easing. The number of Americans who applied last week for new unemployment benefits fell to the lowest level in a month and a half and hovered just above a five-year low, offering another sign that the outlook for hiring might be on the upswing. Initial jobless claims fell by 7,000 to a seasonally adjusted 340,000 in the week ended March 3, putting them at the lowest level since mid-January. On the other hand, US households boosted their overall debt by 2.4% in the fourth quarter, marking the biggest increase since early 2008, the Federal Reserve reported. Yet net wealth also rose by $1.1 trillion because of higher US stock prices and rising home values. In its quarterly flow of funds report, the Fed stated that household debt rose in the final three months of 2012 after falling a revised 2% in the third quarter. Besides, US consumers increased their debt in January by a seasonally adjusted $16.2 billion, the Federal Reserve reported. The increase is just above December’s $15 billion pace and is the largest monthly increase in credit since August. Monthly debt rose at a 7% pace in January, after a 6.6% pace in the prior month.

Additionally, the nation’s trade deficit rebounded in January after hitting a three-year low in the previous month due to a swing in oil imports. The trade gap widened by $6.3 billion in January to $44.4 billion, the Commerce Department stated. This follows a $10.1 billion decline in the prior month. The one-month worsening in the deficit in January is the largest since last March. In percentage terms, it was the biggest widening since January 2011. Separately, the deterioration in fourth-quarter US productivity was a touch less than originally estimated. The government revised the drop in year-end productivity to a 1.9% annual rate from 2.0% in its preliminary tally. The output of goods and services and the amount of time workers put in on the job were both somewhat higher compared to the earlier estimate. Even with the revision, the decline was the steepest since the fourth quarter of 2008.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 33.25 points or 0.23 percent to 14,329.50, the S&P 500 inched up by 2.80 points or 0.18 percent to 1,544.26 and the Nasdaq added 9.72 points or 0.30 percent to 3,232.09.

The Indian ADRs made a mixed closing on Thursday, HDFC Bank was up by 1.56%, ICICI Bank was up 1.17% and Dr. Reddy’s Lab was up 0.26%. On the other hand, Tata Motors was down by 0.24% and Infosys was down by 0.07%.

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