US markets gain on earning reports, manufacturing data

16 Jul 2013 Evaluate

The US markets climbed modestly on Monday, with the S&P 500 and the Dow industrials rising to record closing highs again, after Citigroup Inc. reported better-than-expected earnings. A better-than-forecast manufacturing report also helped neutralize worse-than-anticipated US retail-sales data. On the economy front, manufacturing conditions improved in July, according to an index of New York state factory firms that suggests an improving domestic economy is offsetting concerns from abroad. The Empire State manufacturing survey rose in July for the second month and has now been in positive territory for five of the last six months. The general business conditions index rose to 9.5 from 7.8 in June, and components measuring new orders and shipments turned positive. The index measuring expectations for six months ahead rose to 32 from 25 in June. The Empire State index is the first of the regional manufacturing reports to be released. Besides, business inventories rose 0.1% in May to a seasonally adjusted $1.66 trillion. Sales jumped 1.1% in May, however. As a result, the ratio of inventories to sales fell to 1.29 from 1.30. Inventory growth in April, meanwhile, was revised down to 0.2% from an initial read of a 0.3% increase.

Separately, retail sales rose in June because of higher gasoline prices and strong demand for autos, but sales were soft in several other key areas in a sign that the nation’s growth rate is likely to taper off in the second quarter. The Commerce Department stated that Retail sales rose a seasonally adjusted 0.4% last month. Consumers are the main engine of US economic growth and retail sales account for a big part of what they spend. Yet the smaller-than-expected increase in sales in the final month of the second quarter suggests US growth in the April-to-June period could be even slower than forecast.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 19.96 points or 0.13 percent to 15,484.30, the Nasdaq added 7.41 points or 0.21 percent to 3,607.49 and the S&P 500 edged higher by 2.31 points or 0.14 percent to 1,682.50.

The Indian ADRs ended mostly in green on Monday, Tata Motors was up 0.18%, Dr. Reddy’s Lab was up 0.18% and Sterlite Industries was up 0.15%. On the other hand, ICICI Bank was down by 0.44% and HDFC Bank was down 0.19%. 

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