US markets slip on Fed talks; retreats from all-time high

21 May 2013 Evaluate

The US markets edged lower on Monday, declining from new all-time highs set earlier in the day and with investors awaiting comments from Federal Reserve officials later in the week. Federal Reserve President Charles Evans stated that the central bank’s policy stance is appropriate and that the improving economy still faces headwinds. Evans added that there has been good progress in the labor market, but questions remain over whether the gains are sustainable. His comments suggest that Evans is not willing to support tapering the Fed’s bond-buying program at the next rate-policy meeting on June 18-19. On inflation, Evans stated he would like to see the price index rise closer to the Fed’s 2% target. Evans is a voting member of the Federal Open Market Committee this year. On Wednesday, Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke is due to testify before the Joint Economic Committee about the central bank’s economic outlook, and the FOMC will release minutes from its most recent policy meeting.

On the economy front, the Chicago Fed’s national activity index worsened in April, falling to negative 0.53 from negative 0.23 in March. The three-month moving average meanwhile was at negative 0.04 from negative 0.05 in March. The three-month average of the index, which is a weighted average of 85 different economic indicators, is designed so that a zero reading equals trend growth and a reading below negative 0.70 indicates an increasing likelihood a recession has begun.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 19.12 points or 0.12 percent at 15,335.30, the S&P 500 dropped 1.18 points or 0.07 percent to 1,666.29 and Nasdaq inched lower by 2.53 points or 0.07 percent to 3,496.43.

Indian ADRs closed mostly in red on Friday, ICICI Bank was down 0.66%, HDFC Bank was down 0.60%, Dr. Reddy’s Lab was down 0.27% and Infosys was down by 0.24%. On the flip side, Sterlite Industries was up 0.12%.

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