US markets slip as policymakers favor tapering this year

22 Aug 2013 Evaluate

The US markets ended lower on Wednesday, losing grip on a late-afternoon recovery, as investors weighed the Federal Reserve’s signal that it remained on course to curb its monthly bond purchases by the end of the year. Fed officials are broadly comfortable with Chairman Ben Bernanke’s plan to begin reducing the asset buying later this year so long as the economy improves, with a few Federal Open Market Committee members indicating tapering might be called for soon, according to the minutes released. Under that outlook, if economic conditions improved broadly as expected, the Committee would moderate the pace of its securities purchases later this year. And if economic conditions continued to develop broadly as anticipated, the Committee would reduce the pace of purchases in measured steps and conclude the purchase program around the middle of 2014. The apparent consensus contrasts with the sharp divisions voiced by Fed officials in the June meeting minutes.  After its July meeting, the Fed released a statement voicing concerns about rising mortgage rates and excessively low inflation, leading some to suggest that a reduction in the bond-buying could be delayed beyond September. While the minutes reflect those concerns, they provide no further clarification on when a paring of the purchases could begin. Policymakers noted that federal budget cuts have taken a bigger toll on the economy in the first half of 2013 than they thought, according to the minutes.

On the economy front, existing-home sales in July jumped to their highest level since late 2009, as buyers looked to lock in mortgage rates before they rise further. The National Association of Realtors reported that existing-home sales in July rose 6.5% to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 5.39 million. That level was the highest since late 2009, when buyers rushed to meet a tax-credit deadline.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average slipped 105.44 points or 0.70 percent to 14,897.50, the S&P 500 was down 9.55 points or 0.58 percent to 1,642.80, while the Nasdaq lost 13.80 points or 0.38 percent to 3,599.79.

Indian ADRs closed in red on Wednesday; Dr. Reddy’s Lab was down 1.51%, ICICI Bank was down 1.16%, Infosys was down 1.06%, HDFC Bank was down 1.05% and Tata Motors was down 0.86%.

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