US Markets ended flat on 2nd March 2010

Dow Jones industrial average was up 2 points,up 0.02 percent, to 10,406 . The Standard & Poor’s 500 index ended up 0.23 percent to settle at 1,118 . The tech-heavy Nasdaq composite index up 0.32 percent up 7 points to 2,281.

US stocks erased most of their gains as tech stocks retreated; indices ended flat; Indian ADRs ended up; Tata Motors up 4.79%

In the US markets- stocks erased most of their gains as tech stocks retreated. Stocks had opened higher, buoyed by optimism that a Greek bailout was coming and as techs pushed higher on some encouraging outlooks. Techs however slipped in late trade and the sector ended the day in negative territory.

Financials were another primary source of support for the broader market, but they lost momentum as the session progressed.

Despite the absence of positive drivers, the S&P 500 managed to hold on to a modest gain, which put it back in positive territory for the year, up 0.23% for the year. The Dow & the Nasdaq too ended flat for the day.

On to the monthly auto sales in US – GM kicked it off, reporting its US auto sales rose 11.5% in February, about half of what analysts had expected. Ford reported its US sales jumped 43% last month, much higher than the 30.1% expected. Toyota reported its sales fell 8.7%, not as bad as the 10-to-15-percent drop expected.

The dollar slipped against the euro as the euro rebounded from a 9 and half month low on expectation of a new plan to address Greece’s debt crisis.

Commodities had a strong session that concluded with a 0.9% gain for the CRB commodity index. The CRB was unable to break above its 50-day moving average, though.

Energy contracts also garnered support. As such, oil prices advanced 1.2% to $ 79.68 per barrel. Prices hit a one-month high of 80.95 dollars per barrel in intra-day trade.

Base metals ticked higher as funds capitalised on a softer dollar, while support also came from stock markets. Copper prices however fell from their five week highs after mines reopened in Chile post the devastating earthquake over the weekend.

Indian ADRs ended in green on Tuesday. In IT space, Wipro was up 2.15% at $ 22.85, Infosys was up 1.27% at $ 59.08, Satyam Computers was up 1.88% at $ 5.41 and Patni Computers was up 1.62% at $ 21.37.

In Telecom space, MTNL was up 2.26% at $ 3.17 and Tata Communication was up 0.32% at $ 12.55. In Banking space, HDFC Bank was up 1.84% at $ 124.75 and ICICI Bank was up 1.03% at $ 39.29.

In other sectors, Tata Motors was up 4.79% at $ 17.5, Sterlite Industries was up 1.68% at $ 17.54 and Dr Reddy’s Labs was up 0.83% at $ 25.45.