US mkts ended lower as a broad-based selling

The US markets ended lower as a broad-based selling effort took hold following a steep sell-off in China’s Shanghai Composite Index.

In economic news, the Chicago institute for supply management reported its gauge of business activity in the Midwest region rose to 50 from 43.3 in July, the highest reading since September 2008.

In currencies, the dollar fell to a seven-week low against the yen, as the Japanese currency was buoyed by a decisive opposition victory in Japanese elections and declines in china’s equities. The dollar gave up gains versus the euro to hit session lows after data showed business activity in the US Midwest picked up at a faster pace than expected.

In commodities, crude prices fell nearly 4% to trade below USD 70 a barrel as a drop in China’s key stock index dented optimism about the pace of economic recovery, and the US dollar strengthened.

In base metals, copper plunged the most in two months, down nearly 4% as global equity markets fell, signaling slower demand for industrial metals. Zinc prices also declined in shanghai.

At closing bell, the Dow Jones fell 47.92 points, or 0.5%, to 9,496.28. The S&P 500 index declined 8.31 points, or 0.8%, to 1,020.62, while the Nasdaq dropped 19.71 points, or 1%, to 2,009.06. But all three major indices gained for the month of August. The Dow Jones rose 3.5%, the Nasdaq advanced 1.5% and the S&P 500 advanced 3.4%.

Indian ADRs ended in red barring Satyam Computers, which was up 21.53% at $ 6.66. In IT space, Infosys was down 2.26% at $ 43.23, Wipro was down 1.13% at $ 15.75 and Patni Computers was down 0.81% at $ 17.17.

In Telecom space, Tata Communication was down 3.09% at $ 20.39 and MTNL was down 1.54% at $ 3.84. In Banking space, ICICI Bank was down 1.61% at $ 30.52 and HDFC Bank was down 0.74% at $ 98.51.

In other sectors, Tata Motors was down 3.82% at $ 11.59, Sterlite Industries was down 3.74% at $ 13.39 and Dr Reddy’s Labs was down 2.24% at $ 16.12.

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