US markets gain modestly as investors weigh economic data and earnings

23 Jul 2013 Evaluate

The US markets edged higher on Monday; with the S&P 500 notching its 23rd record close this year, as investors analyzed corporate earnings of financial and health-care sectors and home sales to gauge the prospects for continued central bank stimulus. The US economy improved slightly in June, as the national activity index rose to negative 0.13 from negative 0.29 in May, according to the Chicago Fed. The three-month average rose to negative 0.26 from negative 0.37 in May. The index, a weighted average of 85 different economic indicators, is designed so that readings of zero indicate trend growth, and if the three-month average falls below negative 0.70, that indicates an increasing likelihood a recession has started. Besides, the National Association of Realtors stated that June existing-home sales on a seasonally adjusted basis fell 1.2% to an annual rate of 5.08 million -- the second-highest rate since November 2009 -- from a downwardly revised 5.14 million. The median price of a home was $214,200, a 13.5% gain from year-earlier levels.

Meanwhile, a Senate subcommittee hearing on Tuesday will begin to review a practice that allows deposit-taking banks to trade physical commodities, including oil and metal. The Federal Reserve is reconsidering exemptions that let lenders such as Goldman Sachs Group Inc. and JP Morgan Chase & Company  store, transport and own physical assets such as oil and metal.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 1.81 points or 0.01 percent to 15,545.50, the Nasdaq was up 12.77 points or 0.36 percent to 3,600.39, while the S&P 500 added 3.44 points or 0.20 percent to 1,695.53.

The Indian ADRs ended mostly in green on Monday, Infosys was up 1.28%, ICICI Bank was up by 0.35%, Tata Motors was up 0.23% and HDFC Bank was up 0.14%. On the other hand, Dr. Reddy’s Lab was down 0.03%.

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