Marginal gains for US stocks

Indian ADRs end in a mixed mode

US stocks ended Monday's choppy trading session marginally higher on 16 June 2014 at Wall Street. The main benchmarks dipped in and out of negative territory as investors weighed upbeat economic reports and deal news against concerns over escalating sectarian violence in Iraq. The 10-yr note, gold prices, and the US Dollar Index were also little changed.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 5.27 points to 16,781.01. The Nasdaq Composite ended the day up 10.45 points, or 0.2% at 4,321.11. The S&P 500 closed 1.62 points, or 0.1%, higher at 1,937.78.

Seven out of ten economic sectors ended higher led by energy and utilities sectors.

The situation in Iraq deteriorated during the weekend. Meantime, Russia-Ukraine tensions are still running high as Russia has cut the natural gas supply to Ukraine and said it will supply natural gas to Ukraine only if paid in advance.

The big economic data point of the week is likely to be the U.S. Federal Reserve Open Market Committee meeting that begins on Tuesday and ends on Wednesday afternoon, including a press briefing following the meeting by Fed Chair Janet Yellen.

Among today's economic data expected at Wall Street, Industrial production for May rose 0.6%, topping expectations, and the April performance was revised higher, a report from the Federal Reserve showed. New York regional manufacturing activity held near a four-year high in June, beating forecasts by ticking higher to 19.3 from 19.0 in May. Confidence among home builders increased in June to the highest level since January, according to a gauge from the National Association of Home Builders/Wells Fargo.

Among stocks under focus, Covidien shares soared 20% to $86.75 after Medtronic announced Sunday that it plans to buy the Ireland-based company in a $42.9 billion deal.

Apple shares rose 1%. Yahoo dropped 5.7% after Chinese Internet company Alibaba reported slowing revenue growth for the year. Yahoo owns 24% of Alibaba. Twitter shares rose 3% on Monday and were up for 6th day in a row, its longest streak as a public company.

Bullion prices ended the U.S. day session just slightly higher Monday, 16 June 2014 at Comex. More safe-haven demand was featured as geopolitical tensions are on the rise. However, gold prices backed down from earlier higher levels as profit taking surfaced following recent gains. Gold futures settled slightly higher on Monday after a round of better-than-expected U.S. economic data dampened earlier gains sparked by escalating violence in Iraq.

Gold for August delivery added $1.20, or 0.1%, to end at $1,275.30 an ounce, and July silver gained 6 cents, or 0.3%, to settle at $19.72 an ounce.

Crude Oil futures held steady but near nine-month highs on Monday, 16 June 2014 at Nymex erasing or trimming earlier gains on expectations Iraq's main oil-producing areas will remain insulated from the sectarian violence sweeping the north of the country as Sunni militants battle the Iraqi government.

July crude oil fell a penny to close at $106.90 a barrel on Nymex after earlier trading above $107 a barrel, ending a three-session winning streak. Prices last week jumped 4.1%, the largest weekly%age gain since the week ended Dec. 6. They had seen their highest settlement since Sept. 18, 2013.

Indian ADRs ended mixed on Monday. In the IT space, Wipro gained 0.87% at $11.63 and Infosys rose 0.59% at $54.30 per ADR. In the banking space, ICICI Bank shed 2.35% at $48.97 and HDFC Bank declined 1.1% at $46.81. In the other sectors, Tata Motors added 1.47% at $38.75 and Dr Reddy's Laboratories was down 0.84% at $40.08.

Tuesday's economic calendar will feature the Housing Starts and CPI reports for May, both of which will be released at 08:30 a.m. ET.

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