US markets closed mostly up on reduced worry about Syria

The US markets closed mostly higher on Wednesday, with the Dow industrial tallying a third day of triple-digit gains, though reduced worry about Syria countered Apple Inc.’s sharp drop. President Barack Obama’s decision to delay military action against Syria eased concerns, yet the issue remained on the back burner. Apple Inc. was under pressure a day after the consumer-technology company announced two new models, with analysts criticizing the cost of its lower-priced iPhone, saying it would prove too pricey to succeed in emerging markets. On the economy front, the Commerce Department reported that US wholesale inventories rose 0.1% in July and wholesale sales also increased by 0.1%. At July’s sales pace, the inventory-to-sales ratio was unchanged at 1.17 months. Inventories of durable goods fell 0.4% in July, but inventories of nondurables increased by 0.7%. Inventories declined by an unrevised 0.2% in June, while sales rose a revised 0.4% in that month.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 135.54 points or 0.89 percent to 15,326.60, the S&P 500 was up 5.14 points or 0.31 percent to 1,689.13, while the Nasdaq lost 4.01 points or 0.11 percent to 3,725.01.

Indian ADRs closed mostly in red on Wednesday; Infosys was down 0.54%, ICICI Bank was down 0.50% and Tata Motors was down 0.17%. On the flip side, Dr. Reddy’s Lab was up 0.40% and Wipro was up 0.36%.