US markets close mostly lower on weak manufacturing data

24 Jul 2013 Evaluate

The US markets closed mostly lower on Tuesday after a decline in a regional manufacturing gauge prompted concern, but the Dow industrials climbed to a record close. Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond stated that manufacturing activity in the central Atlantic region declined in July, with a seasonally adjusted composite index of manufacturing activity down 18 points in July to a reading of -11. The seasonally adjusted composite index of manufacturing activity, the broadest measure of manufacturing, fell eighteen points in July to a reading of -11. Among the components of that index, shipments dropped twenty-six points to -15 in July. The new orders index also fell to -15; the previous reading was 9; and the gauge for the number of employees remained at 0 for a second month in July. Besides, activity in the service sector softened in July. Retail sales dropped, with weaker big-ticket sales and a steep decline in shopper traffic compared to a month ago. Retail inventories fell more slowly than in June. Revenues also declined at non-retail services firms. Looking ahead six months, however, expectations for business in the broad service sector were optimistic.

Separately, US home prices in May as measured by the Federal Housing Finance Agency rose 0.7% on a seasonally adjusted basis, or up 7.3% on a year-on-year basis. That puts the index 11.2% below its April 2007 peak, or put another way, back to January 2005 levels. Every region showed growth on a year-over-year basis, ranging from 3.3% in the Middle Atlantic to 15.8% in the Pacific. On a monthly basis, the East South Region saw a 1.5% decline while the South Atlantic region saw a 1.8% gain.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 22.19 points or 0.14 percent to 15,567.70, the Nasdaq was down 21.11 points or 0.59 percent to 3,579.27, while the S&P 500 lost 3.14 points or 0.19 percent to 1,692.39.

The Indian ADRs ended mostly in red on Tuesday, HDFC Bank was down 0.82%, ICICI Bank was down by 0.61%, Infosys was down 0.31% and Wipro was down by 0.07%. On the other hand, Dr. Reddy’s Lab was up 0.35%.

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