US markets closed mostly down ahead of ECB meeting

The US markets closed mostly down on Wednesday, with Wall Street unwilling to make major moves ahead of a European Central Bank meeting the next day. Investors offered limited reaction to a morning report on US productivity, which rose more than previously estimated for the second quarter. The US workers were more productive in the second quarter than initially thought as inflation remained tame. Productivity of the US nonfarm business sector rose at a 2.2% annualized rate in the second quarter, stronger than the 1.6% pace estimated a month ago. Output was revised up to a 2.4% increase from 2.0%. The increase in hours worked was revised down to 0.1% from 0.4%, the smallest gain in hours since the third quarter of 2009. Meanwhile, investors are keeping a close watch on all economic numbers ahead of the Federal Reserve's September 12-13 policy meeting, since the reports will likely influence the central bank’s decision on whether it will announce more quantitative easing.

In Europe, investors await the outcome of a crucial meeting of European Central Bank officials early Thursday. Investors are expecting Mario Draghi to announce the details of a new bond-buying program for euro-area governments that agree to certain terms. The program will involve unlimited purchases of bonds, which will be sterilized to ease concerns about printing money. Besides, the economic downturn in the euro zone continued in August, as the output shrank for the seventh month in the euro zone and contracted in Germany, France, Italy and Spain. Swiss consumer prices fell in August and retail sales in the euro zone declined in July.

The Dow Jones industrial average gained 11.54 points, or 0.09 percent, to 13,047.50. The S&P 500 Index lost 1.50 points or 0.11%, to 1,403.44, while the Nasdaq Composite was down by 5.79 points, or 0.19 percent, to 3,069.27.

The Indian ADRs closed mixed on Wednesday, Sterlite Industries was down by 0.25%, ICICI Bank was down 0.19% and Dr. Reddy’s Lab was down 0.17%. On the other hand, Infosys was up 0.17% and HDFC Bank was up 0.07%.