US markets gain on encouraging economic data

26 Jun 2013 Evaluate

The US markets edged higher on Tuesday, as Wall Street cheered upbeat economic data showing increase in durable-goods orders, new-home sales and consumer confidence which overshadowed concerns about China’s credit problems. The mood of US consumers climbed to a five-year high in June, according to an index released that showed expectations for the future climbing significantly. The Conference Board’s consumer confidence index jumped to 81.4 in June, the best reading since January 2008 and up from 74.3 in May. Consumers had better views both of current conditions and the future. The present situation index rose to 69.2 from 64.8, while the expectations index gained to 89.5 from 80.6. Besides, sales of new homes rose in May to the highest rate since mid-2008 and purchases in the early spring were also higher than originally estimated. Sales increased 2.1% last month to an annual rate of 476,000, providing more evidence of the robust recovery underway in the US housing market.

Meanwhile, orders for big-ticket US goods jumped 3.6% in May, mainly because of more demand for commercial jets and military equipment. Aircraft orders surged 51% in a strong month for Boeing, but auto bookings fell 1.2%, the Commerce Department reported. Durable-goods orders have risen 2.1% in the first five months of 2013 compared to the same span in 2012, a mild increase that reflects slow going in the US manufacturing sector. Separately, prices for US homes leaped in April, posting record monthly growth and the fastest year-over-year growth in seven years, according to S&P/Case-Shiller data released. With gains in 19 out of 20 cities, the 20-city composite index rose 2.5% in April, the largest monthly growth on record. Also, a separate reading on home prices from the Federal Housing Finance Agency, which regulates Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, showed a seasonally adjusted gain of 0.7% in April.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 100.75 points or 0.69 percent, to close at 14,760.30, S&P 500 added 14.94 points or 0.95 percent, to close at 1,588.03 while Nasdaq edged higher 27.13 points or 0.82 percent, to end at 3,347.89.

The Indian ADRs closed mostly in green on Tuesday, HDFC Bank was up by 1.27%, Infosys was up 1.06%, ICICI Bank was up 0.62% and Tata Motors was up 0.61%. On the other hand, Sterlite Industries was down by 0.01%.

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