The US markets gained on Tuesday, with Dow snapping five-day losing streak and major indexes rebounding from heavy losses in the previous three sessions, as investors examined the latest earnings reports. Investors also geared up for the Federal Reserve’s policy announcement scheduled on Wednesday afternoon. On the economy front, a gauge of consumer confidence advanced in January, topping forecasts. The confidence index rose to 80.7 in January from 77.5 in December. A component measuring the present situation rose to 79.1 from 75.3 and the expectations index rose to 81.9 from 79. The index, which has shot up from a 58.4 level in January 2013, still hasn’t been in triple-digit territory since August 2007, a few months before the onset of the Great Recession.
On the other hand, orders for big-ticket US goods sank 4.3% in December and posted the biggest drop since midsummer, largely because of fewer bookings for autos, large aircraft and military hardware. Business investment outside of transportation and defense also softened and the increase in orders for November was trimmed. The disappointing report could lead to a reduction in forecasts for fourth-quarter gross domestic product. US home prices ticked down 0.1% in November, the first decline in a year, with nine of 20 tracked cities posting price drops as winter approached. After seasonal adjustments, home prices in November rose 0.9%, according to S&P/Case-Shiller’s 20-city composite index. On a year-over-year basis, home prices rose 13.7% in November, the fastest growth in more than seven years.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 90.68 points or 0.57 percent to 15,928.56, Nasdaq added 14.35 points or 0.35 percent to 4,097.96, and the S&P 500 was up by 10.94 points or 0.61 percent to 1,792.50.
Indian ADRs closed mostly in green on Tuesday; Tata Motors was up by 1.61%, Dr. Reddy’s Lab was up 1.05%, ICICI Bank was up 0.37% and Wipro was up 0.29%. On the other hand, Infosys was down 0.15%.