US markets close lower; snaps 4-day winning streak

The US markets closed lower on Wednesday, with the main benchmarks ending their four-day winning streak. The S&P 500 retreated from record levels but still closed above 1,900. A government report to be released tomorrow is expected to show that US economy almost certainly contracted in the first quarter during an unusually harsh winter. That’s because American exports didn’t increase as much as previously believed and construction spending was a bit softer, too. The report predicted that gross domestic product will reveal a 0.6% decline in the first three months of the year instead of a meager 0.1% increase as originally reported. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was down by 42.32 points or 0.25 percent, to 16,633.18, the Nasdaq Composite lost 11.99 points or 0.28 percent, to 4,225.08 and the S&P 500 dropped 2.13 points or 0.11 percent, to close at 1,909.78. The Indian ADRs closed mixed on Wednesday; Infosys was down 1.76%, Tata Motors was down 1.00% and Wipro was down by 0.12%. On the other hand, Dr. Reddy’s Lab was up by 0.48% and HDFC Bank was up 0.38%.