US mkts end with modest gain on strong economic data

By Varinder Bansal, Research Analyst at CNBC-TV18

The US markets gained marginally on back of strong economic data; dollar index rose 1%. The Dow Jones Industrial Average ended up 32 points at 11723. The Nasdaq Composite rose 21 points at 2702 and S&P 500 index went up 6 points at 1276. US Advancing Sectors: Financials gained 1.2%, Consumer Discretionary rose 0.8% and Tech moved up 0.7%. European markets ended mixed: CAC was down 0.3% and DAX down 0.5% while FTSE was up 0.5%. CBOE VIX ended down 2% at 17. Asian markets opened higher; Nikkei was up 1.2% (Yen was down 1.5%). Straits Times, Hang Seng and Shanghai were up 0.4%. Taiwan went up 0.2% while Kospi was flat. US Economic News ADP Employment indicated that private payrolls added 297,000 private during December, nearly 3 times expectation