Dow Jones fell 0.1% on Monday - HDFC Securities

U.S. stocks barely budged on Monday, despite upbeat economic and corporate news, as investors were reluctant to push prices higher following four weeks of gains. Dow Jones fell 0.1% and S&P 500 lost 0.2%. Nasdaq rose 0.1%.

Despite the modest retreat, the S&P 500 closed just above the 1,500 level. It finished above that key threshold Friday for the first time since December 2007. After posting gains for the past four weeks, the S&P 500 has gained more than 5% so far in 2013.

With stocks at such lofty levels, investors are wary of placing big bets ahead of a series of labor reports due later this week.

The Census Bureau said orders for long-lasting goods rose 4.6% in December, compared with the 1.6% rise economists had forecast.

The National Association of Realtors said its index of pending home sales fell 4.3% in December. The index is based on the number of contracts signed in a month, but does not measure actual closings.

European stock markets showed mixed moves on Monday, as investors largely stayed on the sidelines ahead of U.S. data, but a positive earnings forecast for Chinese companies gave them some reason for optimism. London's FTSE rose 0.3%, while the DAX in Germany retreated 0.2%. France's CAC 40 index rose 0.1%.

Among the Indian ADRs, Wipro & Tata Motors ended higher by 0.2% & 0.8% respectively. However, the rest of the ADRs ended in the red with Tata Communications & HDFC Bank being the top losers, down 2.3% & 1% respectively. Infosys, Dr. Reddy's & ICICI Bank fell by 0.9%, 0.9% & 0.3% respectively.

Source : Equity Bulls

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