US: Stocks end higher

The US stock market finished session sharp higher on Wednesday, 12 August 2020, as investors chased for riskier assets amid stronger-than-expected economic data and some signs of a slowdown in the spread of the coronavirus pandemic cases in the U.S. and optimism over efforts to produce a vaccine.

At closing bell, the Dow Jones Industrial Average advanced 289.93 points, or 1.05%, to 27,976.84, after briefly trading above its all-time closing high of 3,386.15 set Feb, 19. The S&P 500 index added 46.66 points, 1.4%, to 3,380.35. The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite Index rose 229.42 points, 2.13%, to 11,012.24.

All major S&P sectors climbed, with technology, communication services and health leading percentage gains.

Markets appeared to have little reaction to presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden's pick of California Sen. Kamala Harris as his running mate, the first Black American woman and the first person of Indian decent to appear on the ticket of a major national party.

Meanwhile, U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said the White House and top Democrats in Congress may not be able to reach a deal on coronavirus aid, marking a fifth day without talks, as the stalemate blocked relief to tens of millions of Americans.

Tesla Inc shares jumped after it announced a five-for-one stock split in an attempt to make its shares more accessible to employees and investors.

ECONOMIC NEWS: US Consumer Prices Climb 0.6% In July- US consumer prices climbed by 0.6% in July, according to a report released by the Labor Department on Wednesday. The stronger than expected consumer price growth was partly due to a continued spike in energy prices, which surged up by 2.5% in July after soaring by 5.1% in June. Gasoline prices continued to lead the way higher. However, the jump in energy prices was partly offset by a pullback in food prices, which fell by 0.4% in July after rising by 0.6% in July. Prices for food at home tumbled by 1.1%. Excluding food and energy prices, core consumer prices still advanced by 0.6% in July after inching up by 0.2% in the previous month. Core prices were expected to edge up by another 0.2%. Core consumer prices showed their biggest increase since January of 1991, partly reflecting another jump in prices for motor vehicle insurance, which skyrocketed by 9.3% in July after spiking by 5.1% in June.

Among Indian ADR, Azure Power Global added 2.69% to $21.40, Tata Motors added 3.46% to $8.38, WNS Holdings added 0.4% to $66.09, HDFC Bank rose 0.23% to $47.15, and INFOSYS grew 1.03% to $12.76. Dr Reddys Labs fell 0.59% to $60.90, Wipro fell 0.94% to $4.21, ICICI Bank shed 0.3% to $10.11, Vedanta declined 1.5% to $6.59.

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