US stocks register flat finish on a lackluster day of trading

Major stock market averages started the day on a mixed and uneventful note and that's pretty much how they traded the rest of the day. A rebound for Apple buoyed the technology sector on Wednesday while Wall Street adopted a generally wary stance and considered results from several banks including J.P. Morgan Chase & and Goldman Sachs. The major averages were mixed since the start of trading and were confined to narrow trading ranges despite a blowout earnings report from Goldman Sachs and a better-than-expected report from JPMorgan Chase.

For the day, the Dow ended lower by 23.66 points (0.2%) at 13,511.23. Nasdaq ended higher by 6.77 points (0.22%) at 3,117.55. S&P 500 ended higher by 0.29 points (0.22%) at 1,472.63.

Among the ten economic sectors, telecommunications was hit the hardest and the recently beaten-up technology sector was the best performer. Dow components had a mixed finish.

Boeing led the blue-chip slide, its shares down 3.3%, after Japan's two largest airlines grounded all their 787 Dreamliner planes as a safety precaution after one made an emergency landing. Wednesday's incident is the latest in a series of mishaps plaguing the airliner in recent weeks.

In the currency market, the dollar index, which weighs the strength of the dollar against a basket of six other currencies rose by 0.1%.

In economic news, the Federal Reserve reported Wednesday that U.S. industrial production rose for a second month in December on increased demand for business equipment.

In the latest Beige Book, the Fed said the U.S. economy expanded at either a modest or moderate pace across the country in December and early January, as spending and hiring were held down by concerns over fiscal policy. The dollar showed little reaction to the Fed's anecdotal report about U.S. economic conditions.

On Tuesday, the World Bank sharply curtailed its forecast for global growth in 2013, warning of the negative impact of the political battle in the United States over spending cuts and raising the nation's debt limit. World Bank cuts 2013 global GDP forecast to 2.4% from 3.0%

The market place is awaiting Friday's report from China on its fourth-quarter gross domestic product growth rate.

The market did not react much to a blowout earnings report from Goldman Sachs which topped the estimate by $1.96, and a better-than-expected earnings report from JPMorgan Chase which topped the consensus estimate by twenty cents.

The market soon found its footing, however, when Apple got going. Apple's strength was a staying factor for the broader market and triggered the outperformance of the Nasdaq versus the other major averages. Apple jumped 4.2% to close at $506.9.

Crude oil prices ended higher on Wednesday, 16 January 2013 at Nymex. Prices ended higher as weekly inventory report by the Energy Department reported unexpected drop in crude inventories for last week. Mixed economic data from US and World Bank curtailing the global GDP growth for 2013 kept price rise under check.

On Wednesday, light and sweet crude oil futures for light sweet crude for February delivery closed higher by $0.96 (1%) at $94.24/barrel.

In the latest weekly inventory report, the U.S. Energy Information Administration reported on Wednesday a 1 million-barrel decline in crude supplies for the week ended 11 January 2013. Market had expected a 2.5 million-barrel climb. The report also showed that motor gasoline supplies rose 1.9 million barrels, while distillate stocks added 1.7 million barrels. Market had forecast a rise of 3 million barrels for gasoline inventories and a climb of 1.6 million barrels in distillate supplies, which include heating oil.

In the latest monthly report, OPEC reported today that world oil demand is expected to grow by 800,000 barrels a day in 2013. The estimate is unchanged from OPEC's December forecast. Oil demand is expected to continue to contract by around 200,000 barrels a day across the OECD region of developed economies, which is half the rate seen in 2012. The non-OECD region is projected to consume around 1 million barrels a day more oil than last year. Transportation and industrial sectors are expected to account for most of this year's consumption and to be the main source of growth.

Bullion metals at Comex finished mixed on Wednesday, 16 January 2013. Comex gold futures prices ended the U.S. day session little lower while silver ended marginally higher. Gold for February delivery fell $0.70 (0.04%) to settle at $1,683.2 an ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange on Wednesday. On Wednesday, March silver rose by a penny to settle at $31.54 an ounce.

For every seven shares rising more than eight fell on the New York Stock Exchange, where nearly 560 million shares traded. Composite volume approached 3.2 billion.

Indian ADRs ended mostly lower on Wednesday. In the Banking space, ICICI Bank was down 1.4% and HDFC Bank was down 3%. In the IT space, Infosys was up 0.6% and Wipro was down 1.5%. In the Telecom space, MTNL was down 2.7% and Tata Communication was down 2.24%. In the other space, Sterlite was unchanged, Tata Motors was down 1.4%. Dr Reddys was up by 0.83%. .

For tomorrow, in terms of economic data, the Initial Claims, Housing Starts, and Philadelphia Fed Index reports are expected. On the earnings front, financial names will again be in focus with Bank of America and Citigroup headlining the reporting activity.

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