US markets closed mostly lower; S&P, Dow halts winning streak

The US markets closed mostly lower on Wednesday, with the S&P 500 and Dow Jones Industrial Average snapping a 5-day record-closing streak. The small-cap shares however rose to the highest level since July, as gains among phone and consumer stocks offset losses in utilities. Concerns that European struggles may weigh on the US economy were stoked after Bank of England Governor Mark Carney unveiled lower UK growth and inflation forecasts as officials adjusted to account for moribund global expansion and stagnation in Europe. The US Federal Reserve is also investigating possible improper conduct in foreign exchange markets by large banking institutions. On the economy front, US wholesale inventories rose by 0.3% in September, matching the consensus forecast. Inventories of durable goods, such as autos and machinery, rose 0.8%. Meanwhile, inventories of nondurable goods fell 0.6%. Wholesale sales rose 0.2% in September, following a 0.8% drop in August. At September’s sales pace, the inventory-to-sales ratio remained at 1.19. For August inventory growth was revised to 0.6% from a prior estimate of 0.7%. Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 2.70 points or 0.02 percent to 17,612.20, S&P 500 ended lower by 1.43 points or 0.07 percent to 2,038.25, while Nasdaq was up by 14.58 points or 0.31 percent to 4,675.14.  The Indian ADRs closed mostly in green on Wednesday; Tata Motors was up 0.83%, ICICI Bank was up 0.74%, Dr. Reddy’s Lab was up 0.50% and HDFC Bank was up 0.15%. On the other hand, Infosys was down 0.04%.