US Markets ended flat on 12 March 2010

Mixed consumer and retail data kept US stocks near break even on Friday, but major indexes edged higher for a second straight week. The S&P 500 failed to build on Thursday’s gains, which pushed it to a 17-month high, in what was a tepid week for both bulls and bears. With few economic data points or corporate earnings reports, the stock market struggled for direction.

February retail sales rose after forecasts had called for a decline and a Dow Jones index of retailer stocks gained 0.5%. Macy’s Inc rose 3.3% to $ 21.75. But a separate report showed consumer sentiment edged lower in early March, according to a survey that noted a less positive view of the job outlook.

The Dow Jones industrial average gained 12.85 points, or 0.12%, to end at 10,624.69. The Standard & Poor’s 500 Index shed 0.25 point, or 0.02%, to 1,149.99. The Nasdaq Composite Index dipped 0.80 point, or 0.03%, to close at 2,367.66. For the week, the Dow Jones gained 0.55%, the S&P 500 climbed 1% and the Nasdaq advanced 1.78%.

Bank shares slid after having dominated the week’s activity on what analysts saw as an improved outlook for the sector. Citigroup Inc fell 5% to $ 3.97 on Friday, but was still up 13.4% for the week, its best since August.

In other economic data, the Commerce Department said business inventories were unchanged in January, compared with a forecast for a 0.2% rise.

About 8.3 billion shares traded on the New York Stock Exchange, the American Stock Exchange and Nasdaq, below last year’s estimated daily average of 9.65 billion.

Advancing stocks outnumbered declining ones on the NYSE by a ratio of about 5 to 4. On the Nasdaq, the trend was reversed, with about six stocks falling for every five that rose.

Indian ADRs ended lower yesterday. In the IT space, Infosys was down 1.42% at $ 59.12, Satyam Computers was down 2.77% at $ 5.27, Patni Computers was down 0.91% at $ 22.80, while Wipro was up 0.39% at $ 22.97.

In the Telecom space, MTNL was down 0.93% at $ 3.21 and Tata Communication was down 0.95% at $ 12.51. In the Banking space, ICICI Bank was down 0.10% at $ 41.35 and HDFC Bank was down 1.03% at $ 131.25.

In the other space, Sterlite Industries was up 1% at $ 18.13 and Dr Reddys Labs was up 1.08% at $ 26.23, while Tata Motors was down 0.33% at $ 18.18.

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