Wednesday, October 31, 2007

US markets rise in anitcipation of Fed rate cut

US markets picked up where they had left off last week and traded higher in the face of seemingly negative developments like weak dollar & high oil prices. Stocks closed broadly higher as expectations of a Fed rate cut offset those concerns. There are speculations that the Federal Reserve will knock down short-term interest rates a quarter point on Wednesday.

Another round of earnings provided encouragement that the fallout from the subprime crisis wasn't widespread but analysts worried that rising commodity prices and a sagging dollar would eventually take their toll. The Dow added 0.5% to close at 13,870. The Nasdaq too gained 0.5% to 2,817. Meanwhile the S&P 500 increased 0.4% to 1,541.

Indian ADRs end high; ICICI Bank spurts 6.5%

Indian ADRs ended the day with good gains and on a day when the BSE Sensex crossed the 20,000 mark. In the technology pack, Infosys Technologies was up 3.51% at $ 50.95, Patni Computers was up 0.09% at $ 22.69, Satyam Computers was down 0.37% at $ 29.73, while Wipro ended the day 1.01% higher at $ 16.03.

In the non-technology pack, HDFC Bank was up 5.2% at $ 132.40, VSNL was up 2.96% at $ 31.64, ICICI Bank was up 6.53% at $ 68.86, MTNL was up 5.02% at $ 9.83, Tata Motors was up 2.76% at $ 20.85, Dr Reddy's Lab was up 1.76% at $ 16.20 and Sterlite was up 4.26% at $ 24.99.

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