US markets close lower on debt limit concern

04 Oct 2013 Evaluate

The US markets closed lower on Thursday, after bouncing off intraday lows following a report that House Speaker John Boehner is determined to prevent a federal default, as the Treasury Department warned that such a default would have potentially catastrophic effects. A New York Times reported that Boehner was willing to forego a majority of Republican votes to introduce a bill to raise the debt ceiling to head off a default. Investors were worried that the US government shutdown will impede negotiations over raising the debt limit. A meeting between President Barack Obama and congressional leaders ended with no deal and Obama stated that Wall Street should be concerned about the political stalemate because it could have profound effects on the economy. Separately, John Williams, president of the San Francisco Fed, stated that central bank’s bond-buying program should be mothballed once the economy recovers and the short-term interest rate is back to a more normal level. Dallas Fed President Richard Fisher stated that the decision not to taper in September increased uncertainty over the central bank’s path going forward.

On the economy front, the number of people applying for unemployment benefits barely rose last week, a sign that layoffs in the United States remain at a post-recession low. The Labor Department stated that the initial claims edged up by 1,000 to 308,000 in the week ended September 28. The four-week average, a more reliable measure than the weekly number, fell to its lowest level since May 2007. The monthly average dropped 3,750 to 305,000. Services firms reported slowing activity and hiring in September. The Institute for Supply Management stated that its services index fell to a reading of 54.4% in September from 58.6% in August. The ISM employment index for the sector fell 4.3 points to 52.7%.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 136.66 points or 0.90 percent to 14,996.50, the S&P 500 drop 15.21 points or 0.90 percent to 1,678.66, while the Nasdaq was down 40.68 points or 1.07 percent to 3,774.34.

Indian ADRs closed in green on Thursday; HDFC Bank was up 1.47%, ICICI Bank was up by 0.93%, Tata Motors was up 0.71%, Infosys was up 0.25% and Dr. Reddy’s Lab was up 0.11%.

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