US Stocks extends gain

The US stocks gained ground again on Wednesday, 25 August 2021, with the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq both posted new record closing highs and the Dow closed up as well, as risk sentiments got a boost on positive news on vaccination approvals, continued optimism about growth, and expectation that the Federal Reserve might not begin tapering its bond-buying program anytime soon.

At the close of trade, the Dow Jones Industrial Average index advanced 39.24 points, or 0.11%, to 35,405.50. The S&P 500 index added 9.96 points, or 0.22%, to 4,496.19. The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite Index was up 22.06 points, or 0.15%, to 15,041.86.

Total 7 of 11 S&P500 sectors advanced, while remaining 4 sectors closed down. Financial (up 1.21%) sector was top leader, followed by energy (up 0.72%), industrials (up 0.6%), and materials (up 0.42%) sectors, while healthcare(down 0.26%) was worst performing sector, followed by real estate (down 0.18%).

Total volume turnover on U.S. exchanges was 7.35 billion shares, down from previous session volume of 8.06 billion shares. In the NYSE exchange, 1898 issues advanced, 1347 issues declined, and 194 issues closed unchanged. In the NASDAQ, 2465 issues advanced, 1904 issues declined, and 214 issues unchanged.

Investors are awaiting the Federal Reserve's annual central banking event in Jackson Hole, Wyo. later this week, focused on whether or not central bankers will detail their plans for tapering monetary stimulus. The Fed has started discussions to pull back its $120 billion a month bond-buying program by the end of this year. The summit will take place virtually on Thursday, and Fed Chairman Jerome Powell will give a speech on Friday.

ECONOMIC NEWS: US durable goods orders edged down by 0.1% in July following a 0.8% increase in June, the Commerce Department reported on Wednesday. The dip in durable goods orders came as orders for transportation equipment tumbled by 2.2% in July after jumping by 1.4% in the previous month. Orders for non-defence aircraft and parts led the way lower, plummeting by 48.9% in July after surging by 4.7% in June. Excluding the drop in orders for transportation equipment, durable goods orders climbed by 0.7% in July after rising by 0.6% in June. Ex-transportation orders were expected to increase by 0.5%.

Among Indian ADR, INFOSYS added 0.42% to $23.98, Vedanta added 0.65% to $15.57, HDFC Bank added 0.89% to $78.48, and Tata Motors added 0.26% to $19.17. Wipro fell 0.78% to $9.10, Dr Reddys Labs fell 0.75% to $61.04, and ICICI Bank fell 0.26% to $18.85. WNS Holdings steady at $83.05.

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