The US markets closed lower on Wednesday, as investors were unable to shrug off worries over the economy on report showing that private companies added fewer jobs than forecast, overshadowing acceleration in service industries. Automatic Data Processing Inc. (ADP) reported that the private-sector-employment gains slowed down in January, as employers added 175,000 jobs. ADP revised December’s gain to 227,000. On the other hand, US service-sector companies expanded in January at slightly faster pace. On the positive side, the Institute for Supply Management stated that its nonmanufacturing index climbed to 54% last month from 53% in December. Eleven of the industries tracked by ISM reported growth last month while seven recorded a decline.
Meanwhile, Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia President Charles Plosser, who votes on policy this year, stated that he expects the economy to expand 3 percent in 2014 as the jobless rate falls to 6.2 percent by year-end, warranting a quicker tapering to bond purchases by the central bank.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 5.01 points or 0.03 percent to 15,440.23, Nasdaq dropped 19.97 points or 0.50 percent to 4,011.55, and the S&P 500 was down by 3.56 points or 0.20 percent to 1,751.64.
Indian ADRs closed mostly in red on Wednesday; ICICI Bank was down 1.06%, Infosys was down 0.55%, Dr. Reddy’s Lab was down 0.44% and HDFC Bank was down 0.15%. On the other hand, Tata Motors was up by 0.21%.