Indian ADRs end higher led by Tata Motors
U.S. stocks ended with good gains on Friday, 14 February 2014. Stocks ended the week with the best gains this year, sending the Nasdaq Composite to the highest level since July 2000. Economic data on Friday was mixed. Earlier, a surprise drop in industrial production in January, with the cold weather knocking manufacturing and mining output, dampened the mood. Investors shrugged off a surprise drop in industrial production data and focused on a mildly better-than-expected consumer sentiment gauge and earnings reports.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed 126.80 points, or 0.8%, higher at 16,154.39 and recorded a 2.3% weekly gain. The Nasdaq Composite rose for the seventh consecutive session after a volatile start, adding 3.35 points, or 0.1%, to 4,244.03. The tech-heavy index gained 2.9% over the week. The S&P 500 index closed 8.80 points, or 0.5%, higher at 1,838.63 and gained 2.3% over the week.
All but three Dow members gained on Friday. Exxon Mobil led the Dow gainers.
All ten economic sectors ended higher led by consumer staples, energy, industrials and materials sectors. Financials, healthcare and technology sectors were the laggards which registered around 0.2% gains.
Among economic data expected on Friday at Wall Street, export prices, excluding agriculture, ticked up 0.2% in January after increasing 0.3% in the prior reading. Excluding oil, import prices rose 0.3%, which follows last month's downtick of 0.1%.
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Industrial production declined 0.3% in January after increasing 0.3% in December while the consensus expected an increase of 0.3%. Also, the preliminary reading for the University of Michigan Consumer Sentiment Index for February was unchanged at 81.2 while the consensus expected the index to fall to 80.2. The Current Conditions Index weakened slightly, falling from 96.8 in January to 94.0. This was offset by an increase in the Expectations Index from 71.2 to 73.0 in February.
Among major stocks under focus, Campbell Soup shares rallied 5% after the company's quarterly earnings topped expectations. Trulia tumbled 18% after the online real-estate listing site reported Thursday its fourth-quarter loss widened. Agilent Technologies was down 8% after reporting its earnings late Thursday.
Bullion prices ended higher on Friday, 14 February 2014. Gold futures rose Friday for an eighth session in a row and scored a roughly 4.4% gain for the week, fueled by a combination of increased physical demand and economic jitters.
April gold futures added $18.50, or 1.4%, to settle at $1,318.60 an ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange. The most-active gold contract saw a 4.4% gain on the week. March silver climbed $1.03, or 5%, to end at $21.42 an ounce. Prices closed at the highest since early November, up 7.5% for the week.
Crude Oil prices remained under pressure on Friday, 14 February 2014, after data showed that January U.S. industrial production fell 0.3% in January, defying forecasts for a 0.2% rise. Oil futures stuck to a tight trading range of roughly $1 a barrel, though managed to score a fifth weekly gain in a row.
March crude oil lost 5 cents, or 0.1%, to end at $100.30 a barrel on Nymex. It was up 0.4% from last Friday's close, posting a fifth weekly gain in a row.
Indian ADRs closed on a positive note on Friday. Tata Motors was the biggest gainer, rising 3.96% to $32.27 per ADR while Dr Reddy's Labs climbed 0.5% to $42.25. In the technology space, Infosys rose 1.6% to $59.30 and Wipro was up 0.6% at $12.97. Among banks, ICICI Bank advanced 0.6% to $33.51 and HDFC Bank soared 0.7% to $32.97.
Trading volume was well below average with only 609 million shares changing hands at the NYSE.
Bond and equity markets will be closed on Monday, 17 February 2014 for Presidents' Day.
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