Dow logged a solid 130-plus point’s gain and the S&P 500 closed above the key 1100 mark

Dow logged a solid 130-plus point’s gain and the S&P 500 closed above the key 1100 mark after Fed Chairman Bernanke signaled he plans to leave rates low for a while; Indian ADRs ended mostly in green

In the US markets, the Dow logged a solid 130-plus point’s gain and the S&P 500 closed above the key 1100 mark after Fed Chairman Bernanke signaled he plans to leave rates low for a while.

All three major indexes closed at new highs for the year as a weak dollar boosted commodity stocks and a government report showed retail sales rose in October. But markets ended off their highs after banking analyst Meredith Whitney said the recent market rally is not rooted in fundamentals and the US economy is likely to fall back into a recession next year.

At closing bell, the Dow rose 1.3% to close above 10400, the S&P 500 gained 1.5% and the Nasdaq advanced 1.4%.

In economic data, retail sales rose 1.4% in October amid a jump in auto sales. Another report showed that the empire state manufacturing index fell to 23.51 from 34.57.

The dollar fell to a 15 month low though it rose from session lows after Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke said the US central bank is attentive to changes in the dollar and will help ensure the dollar remains strong. The dollar index is trading below 75 mark.

Crude prices rose more than 3% to trade just under the USD 79 mark.

Copper prices rose to a 13-month high, gaining the most in almost three months. Copper rose nearly 5% in trade, while other metals like nickel, lead, zinc, tin and aluminum gained 4 to 5% each.

Gold raced to a record high above 1,140 dollars, gaining 2%. Gains in gold spurred interest in other precious metals too.

Ben Bernanke, Chairman, Federal Reserve said that, “You are attentive to the implications of the changes in the value of the dollar. I would continue to formulate the policy to guard against our risk to foster both maximum employment and price stability”.

Indian ADRs ended mostly in green barring a couple of stocks. In Telecom space, MTNL was up 3.38% at $ 3.36 and Tata Communication was up 1.69% at $ 16.27. In Banking space, HDFC Bank was up 3.35% at $ 136.51 and ICICI Bank was up 2.31% at $ 39.78.

In IT space, Infosys was up 2.04% at $ 51.91, Wipro was up 1.76% at $ 20.2 while Satyam Computers was down 2.79% at $ 5.23 and Patni Computers was down 2.15% at $ 21.38.

In other sectors, Sterlite Industries was up 3.2% at $ 19.05, Tata Motors was up 2.49% at $ 14 and Dr Reddy’s Labs was up 1.16% at $ 24.5.

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