US Markets ended flat on 3 March 2010

US mkts ended flat as Washington ramped up reforms in Healthcare & financial sectors; Indian ADRs ended mixed; Wipro down 1.14% US Markets ended flat on Wednesday.Dow Jones industrial average was down 9 points,down 0.09 percent, to 10,397. The Standard & Poor’s 500 index ended flat at 1,119 . The tech-heavy Nasdaq composite index ended flat to settle 2,281.

The US markets ended flat, off intra-day highs. The Dow snapped a three-day winning streak as Washington ramped up reforms in the Health Care and financial sectors and as the Fed’s beige-book report showed the economy is improving but not at a fast enough pace to spur hiring.

Greece unveiling plan to cut deficit led to some gains in early trade but the market was unable to sustain the up move.

The late slide left the S&P 500 flat below the 1125 level, which is seen as a crucial level. The Dow Jones Industrial Average shed about 10 points, or 0.1%, closing just below 10,400. The Nasdaq too ended flat.

There was a flurry of economic news yesterday, the Fed’s beige book reported that while the recovery is on, growth hasn’t been enough to persuade companies to increase hiring and drive down the unemployment rate.

Earlier, the ISM said its gauge of the services sector rose to 53 in February; it’s highest since December 2007. Economists had expected the gauge to hold at 50.5, where it was in January.

Meanwhile, ADP reported the private sector shed 20,000 jobs in February, less than the upwardly-revised 60,000 loss in January. The jobs reports were an encouraging sign ahead of Friday’s employment report.

The dollar fell versus the euro after Greece announced plans for a further 6.5 billion dollar in pay cuts and tax hikes to reduce its deficit, easing worries about the country’s debt crisis. The dollar index is hovering around the 80 mark.

Commodities had a strong session on the dollar’s weakness that pushed the CRB commodity index back above its 50-day moving average.

Oil futures prices surged 1.5% higher above the USD 80 per barrel mark. This up move is despite a larger than expected weekly inventory build of 4.03 million barrels.

Copper prices rose for a fourth straight session as the dollar declined, enhancing the appeal of commodities as an alternative investment. Other base metals too gained.

Indian ADRs ended mixed on Wednesday. In IT space, Wipro was down 1.14% at $ 22.59, Infosys was down 0.07% at $ 59.04 while Patni Computers was unchanged at $ 21.37 and Satyam Computers was up 0.18% at $ 5.42.

In Telecom space, Tata Communication was down 0.32% at $ 12.51 while MTNL was up 1.58% at $ 3.22. In Banking space, HDFC Bank was down 0.3% at $ 124.38 while ICICI Bank was up 1.93% at $ 40.05.

In other sectors, Tata Motors was up 0.8% at $ 17.64, Dr Reddy’s Labs was up 0.31% at $ 25.53 and Sterlite Industries was up 2.22% at $ 17.93.