The US markets ended the trade with modest gains on Monday, as investors await testimony from the new Federal Reserve chair Janet Yellen on Tuesday. Yellen, sworn in as central-bank chief on February 3, will deliver her first monetary-policy report to Congress after data last month showed US inflation was about half the pace of the central bank’s target. Investors will be watching to see if she sheds any light on plans to further taper, or slow down, the Fed’s stimulus program. The stocks have rallied on Thursday and Friday as investors found positive aspects in both jobless claims and the jobs report, even though the number of jobs created last month fell short of expectations.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 7.71 points or 0.05 percent to 15,801.79, Nasdaq added 22.31 points or 0.54 percent to 4,148.17, and the S&P 500 was up by 2.82 points or 0.16 percent to 1,799.84.
Indian ADRs closed mostly in green on Monday; Tata Motors was up by 1.63%, HDFC Bank was up 0.31%, ICICI Bank was up 0.20% and Dr. Reddy’s Lab was up 0.17%. On the other hand, Infosys was down 0.15%.