US markets closed marginally lower; S&P breaks 3-day winning streak

The US markets closed slightly lower on Tuesday, pausing after three straight days of gains that sent the S&P 500 and Dow Jones Industrial Average to record levels on Monday. Investors found little comfort in a factory orders report, which was mostly in line with expectations, and better-than-expected monthly car sales. On the economy front, orders for goods produced in US factories rose 0.7% in April. The factory orders climbed by a revised 1.5% in March compared with a prior estimate of 0.9%. Orders for durable goods -- products meant to last at least three years -- rose 0.6% in April. Orders for nondurable goods increased 0.7%. Total car and light truck sales climbed in May to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 16.77 million, up from 16.04 million in April. That’s the highest rate since July 2006.

Separately, home prices rose in April as spring sales ramped up, but annual price growth notched the slowest pace of gains in more than a year after a weak first quarter. In April, US home prices were up 2.1% from the prior month, with no states posting a drop and eight states hitting fresh records.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average was down by 21.29 points or 0.13 percent, to 16,722.34, the Nasdaq Composite lost 3.12 points or 0.07 percent, to 4,234.08 and the S&P 500 inched lower 0.73 points or 0.04 percent, to close at 1,924.24.

The Indian ADRs closed mostly in red on Tuesday; Dr. Reddy’s Lab was down by 1.18%, ICICI Bank was down by 0.47% and Infosys was down 0.30%. On the other hand, Tata Motors was up 0.12% and HDFC Bank was up 0.05%.