Indian ADRs end in a mixed mode though
U.S. stocks finished a choppy trading session lower on Tuesday, 25 February 2014 as gloomy reports on home prices and consumer confidence dampened the mood. Equity indices tried to build on the relative strength of the two consumer sectors, but the rally attempts were stifled by the daylong under-performance of the top three groups. A report on home prices showed a dip in December, with the longer trend indicating a slowdown in price recovery. The U.S. consumer confidence index dropped by more than expected, reflecting lower expectations about the economy.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average ended the session 27.48 points, or 0.2%, lower at 16,179.66. The Nasdaq Composite dropped 5.38 points, or 0.1%, to 4,287.59. The S&P 500 index closed 2.49 points, or 0.1%, lower at 1,845.12.
Consumer discretionary, consumer staples and utilities were the winners while energy, financials and industrials were the laggards.
The technology sector succumbed to the pressure exerted by some of its top components. Apple lost 1.0% while Cisco Systems, Facebook and Qualcomm fell between 0.7% and 1.3%.
At Wall Street, the Conference Board's Consumer Confidence Index slipped to 78.1 in February from a downwardly revised 79.4 (from 80.7) while the consensus pegged the index at 80.8. The December Housing Price Index from the FHFA increased 0.8%, which followed an uptick of 0.1% observed in November. The Case-Shiller 20-city Home Price Index for December rose 13.4% while a 13.6% increase had been expected. This followed the November increase of 13.7%.
The Ukrainian civil unrest remains a significant geopolitical factor for the market place. In overnight news, China's stock markets were pressured by news the China central bank drained over 100 billion yuan from the Chinese financial system. The move by the Peoples Bank of China did not have much of an impact on world markets.
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Among major stocks under focus, Home Depot shares rose 4% after the company reported fiscal fourth-quarter earnings that beat forecasts. Macy's shares rose 6.1% after the retailer's fourth-quarter profit beat estimates. Shares of electric car maker Tesla Motors leapt 14% to close at record high price of $248 on Tuesday, after analysts at Morgan Stanley raised their price target to $320, citing potential for the electric auto-maker to disrupt industries outside of its automotive niche, such as batteries and autonomous vehicles.
Bullion prices ended higher on Tuesday, 25 February 2014. Gold prices ended the U.S. day session firmer and near the daily high on Tuesday. Prices scored another four-month high and were boosted in part on some weak U.S. economic data released Tuesday morning. Geopolitical concerns, particularly in Ukraine, as well as expectations for weak economic data have also contributed to gold's recent strength. Prices for the most-active contract have risen in 13 out of the previous 15 sessions.
On Tuesday, gold for April delivery tacked on $4.70, or 0.4%, to settle at $1,342.70 an ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange. March silver settled down nearly 9 cents, or 0.4%, to $21.96 an ounce after Monday's 1.2% gain.
Crude oil futures dropped on Tuesday, 25 February 2014 pressured by expectations that this week's data will show a further rise in U.S. crude inventories and concerns that an economic slowdown in China may dull the outlook for energy demand. Oil also fell on concerns of slowing demand in China.
Crude futures for April delivery dropped 99 cents, or 1%, to settle at $101.83 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.
Indian ADRs ended mixed on Tuesday. In the IT space, Infosys declined 0.48% at $60.76 and Wipro was up 0.44% at $13.76. In the banking space, ICICI Bank was up 0.17% at $34.71 and HDFC Bank fell 0.53% at $33.60. In the other sectors, Tata Motors was down 0.06% at $32.76 and Dr Reddy's Laboratories added 0.29% at $45.18.
Tomorrow, the weekly MBA Mortgage Index will be released at 7:00 ET while New Home Sales for January will be reported at 10:00 ET.
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