US markets closed mostly up; S&P 500 at record high

01 Mar 2014 Evaluate

The US markets closed mostly up on Friday, ending the month of February with strong gains as the S&P 500 notched its 48th record close of the past year. There was however concern about a potential military conflict between Russia and Ukraine which pressured the market in the afternoon. The government chopped its estimate of US growth in the waning months of 2013, calling into question whether the economy is primed to accelerate in 2014 after years of a sluggish expansion. The total value of all goods and services produced by the economy, known as gross domestic product, rose 2.4 % in the fourth quarter. The Commerce Department had initially reported that US grew by 3.2%. The reduced growth estimate suggests the US did not enter the New Year with as much momentum as previously believed. The report also casts doubt on whether the US is ready to grow in 2014 at its fastest rate since the recession ended, as many market men believe.

However, Chicago PMI accelerated in February and rose to 59.8 in February from 59.6 in January. A double-digit gain in employment offset declines in new orders, production and order backlogs. Any reading above 50 indicates expansion. The latest Chicago Report confirms that the US economic recovery continued in February, with new orders and production remaining at high levels. A gauge of pending home sales ticked up 0.1% in January, but remained near a two-year low, signaling that upcoming activity may be slow. The index of pending home sales was 95 in January, compared with 94.9 in December, which was the lowest reading since November 2011.

Meanwhile, the debate, between Chicago Fed President Charles Evans and Philadelphia Fed President Charles Plosser, underscored a fundamental disagreement over the central bank’s optimal approach to policy under new Fed Chair Janet Yellen. To Evans, allowing inflation to run above the Fed’s 2% target would be a small price to pay for bringing the US economy back to full employment quickly, and could even signal the Fed’s commitment to making good on its goals while to Plosser, letting inflation rise above the target would call into question the Fed’s commitment to its goals, undermining its policy effectiveness. Separately, St. Louis Fed President James Bullard stated that he hasn’t seen any data to convince him to change his upbeat forecast for 2014.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 49.06 points or 0.30 percent, to 16,321.71, the S&P 500 gained 5.16 points or 0.28 percent, to close at 1,859.45, while the Nasdaq Composite was down by 10.81 points or 0.25 percent, to 4,308.12.

The Indian ADRs closed mostly in red on Friday; Dr. Reddy’s Lab was down 1.72%, Wipro was down 0.38%, Tata Motors was down by 0.17% and HDFC Bank was down 0.02%. On the other hand, ICICI Bank was up by 0.43%.

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