US markets closed up; Dow posts 25th record high close this year

The US markets closed higher on Thursday, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average despite gyrating between gains and losses ended the session at a fresh record high - recording its 25th record closing high this year. On the economy front, the number of people who applied for unemployment benefits last week posted the biggest increase in two months, but initial claims are still exceedingly low amid an uptick in hiring and relatively few layoffs. Initial jobless claims rose by 12,000 to a seasonally adjusted 290,000 in the seven days ended November 8. Weekly claims have hovered below 300,000 for nine straight weeks, a feat last accomplished at the end of an Internet-fueled economic boom in 2000. The average of new claims over the past month, meanwhile, climbed by 6,000 and stood at 285,000. The four-week average reduces seasonal volatility in the weekly data and is seen as a more accurate barometer of labor-market trends. Companies are ramping up their hiring, and more workers are willing to quit that point to continued improvement in the jobs market. The job-openings level actually got worse in September - falling to 4.74 million from 4.85 million. But the details of the job-openings report were nearly universally positive. And the job-openings level in September was the second highest in 13 years. Besides, the federal government’s budget gap widened in October, but the higher figure was a result of calendar shifts and not a worsening fiscal picture. In October, the deficit was $122 billion, an increase of $31 billion, or 34%, from the same month a year ago. The October deficit would have been $84 billion, or $6 billion lower than the October 2013 shortfall of $91 billion, if not for calendar adjustments. The federal government’s budget year runs from October through September. The government finished fiscal 2014 with a budget deficit of $483 billion, the lowest of Barack Obama’s presidency. Meanwhile, New York Federal Reserve President William Dudley stated that unemployment is too high and inflation that’s too low means it’s still premature to raise US interest rates. He added that US rates should rise sometime next year, if all goes well, but noted that the shift in policy will trigger market turbulence, especially within emerging-market countries. Dudley stated that US growth is unlikely to disappoint as various headwinds have subsided, such as lack of credit availability and excess housing. He continued that with still-high level of unemployment, there could be a benefit to letting the economy run slightly hot for awhile in order to get those people working again. Dow Jones Industrial Average added 40.59 points or 0.23 percent to 17,652.79, Nasdaq was up by 5.00 points or 0.11 percent to 4,680.14 while, S&P 500 ended higher by 1.08 points or 0.05 percent to 2,039.33.  The Indian ADRs closed mostly in red on Thursday; ICICI Bank was down 0.65%, Tata Motors was down 0.38% and Dr. Reddy’s Lab was down by 0.20%. On the other hand, Infosys was up 0.81% and HDFC Bank was up 0.26%.