US stocks end near unchanged mark

US stocks end near unchanged mark on Monday, 10 June, 2013. Indices ended in a mixed mode with Nasdaq being the only index eking out minor gains. Stocks ended a choppy session being little changed on Monday after Standard & Poor's Ratings Services revised its U.S. credit-rating outlook to stable from negative and consumer shares lost ground.

For the day, the Dow ended lower by 9.53 points, or 0.06%, to end at 15,238.6. The Nasdaq gained 4.55 points, or 0.13%, to finish at 3,473.76. The S&P 500 index fell 0.57 points, or 0.06%, to end at 1,642.81.

The ten economic sectors had a mixed finish. The consumer discretionary sector was the biggest laggard and telecommunications was the biggest gainer among 10 major industry groups. Fourteen out of thirty Dow components ended higher led by Mc Donalds. Walt Disney led the Dow laggards.

There was some initial excitement when it was announced before the open that Standard & Poor's raised its US outlook to Stable from Negative, citing a lessening of downside risks to its AA+ rating for US sovereign debt. That positive-sounding headline helped stocks get off to a decent start, yet buying efforts soon tapered off as a concurrent rise in long-term interest rates seemed to limit the stock market's enthusiasm for the outlook change.

St. Louis Federal Reserve President James Bullard in a speech Monday morning said low inflationary pressures at present could allow the Fed to keep its very easy money policies in place.

McDonald's added 1.3% after it posted stronger-than-expected same-store sales for May. The fast-food giant is benefiting from its expanded menu.

Google rose 1.2% after reports that the Internet-search giant was close to reaching a $1.1 billion deal to buy Israeli map-software provider Waze. Facebook rallied 4.5% after Stifel upgraded the social network's shares to buy. Monsanto was among the top gainers in the S&P 500. It rose 4.5% after an upgrade from Macquarie analysts.

In overnight news, China reported weaker-than-expected economic data during the weekend. Its producer price index fell 2.9% in May, on an annual basis. Imports declined 0.3% in May. China industrial production was up 9.2% year-on-year in May, down slightly from April. Electricity output grew by 4.1% on an annual basis in May, versus a 6.2% rise in April. The China data continues a recent string of weaker-than-anticipated reports coming out of the world's second-largest economy. The data is a mildly bearish underlying factor for the raw commodity sector to start the trading week.

In the currency market, the dollar index, which weighs the strength of the dollar against a basket of six other currencies, rose by 0.3% on Monday.

Crude-oil prices ended with small losses on Monday, 10 June 2013 at Nymex. Prices fell following a moderately higher dollar and mixed data from China. Light and sweet crude for July ended lower by $0.26 (0.3%) at $95.77 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange on Monday.

Bullion metal prices ended little higher on Monday, 10 June 2013. Prices ended the U.S. day session with modest gains in quieter trading on Monday. Standard & Poors upgraded the U.S. government's credit rating from negative to stable on Monday morning, which did put some initial, modest downside price pressure on gold and boosted the U.S. dollar index to its daily high. The impact of that news was short-lived, however, as gold prices drifted back toward unchanged shortly thereafter.

Gold for August delivery ended higher by $3 (0.2%) at $1,386 an ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange on Monday. July silver ended higher by $0.19 cents (0.8%) at $21.93 an ounce on Monday.

Indian ADRs ended mixed on Monday. In the IT space, Infosys was up 0.2% and Wipro was down 1.3%. In the Banking space, HDFC Bank was down 2.2% and ICICI Bank was down 3%. In the Telecom space, Tata Communication was unchanged. In other space, Tata Motors was down 2.3%, Dr Reddys was down 2.2% and Sterlite was down 2.7%.

For tomorrow, regarding economic data expected at Wall Street, the Wholesale Inventories report for April (consensus +0.2%; prior +0.4%) is the only piece of US data slated for release.

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