US Markets ended flat on 30 March 2010

US Markets ended flat on Tuesday.Dow Jones industrial average was up 12 points,up 0.11 percent, to 10,907. The Standard & Poor’s 500 index ended flat at 1,173. The tech-heavy Nasdaq composite index ended flat to settle 2,411 .

The US markets closed flat with a positive bias after a see-saw session as technology and industrials gained, while energy and bank stocks traded weak.

Stocks had opened higher after a jump in consumer confidence and encouraging read on housing but the session turned choppy by midday. Overall trading volumes were subdued as fewer than 1 billion shares traded on the NYSE.

In specific stocks, Citigroup shares continued to fall after the treasury department said earlier this week it intends to cash in its shares of the financial giant in a move that could result in an 8-billion dollar profit for the government. Shares of other large banks such as Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley also fell.

But on the gaining side, Apple hit another all-time closing high after the company shook up the Smartphone world, saying it’s designing a new iphone that will work on Verizon’s network.

At the end of Tuesday’s trade, the Dow closed 11 points higher at 10,907, the S&P 500 shut shop at 1,173 and the Nasdaq closed at 2,410.

In economic news– encouraging sign on the housing front, the standard & poor’s/case-shiller 20-city home price index fell just 0.7% year-over-year, which was roughly in-line with estimates. And prices rose 0.3% from December to January, the eighth-straight gain.

In other data, the conference board’s gauge of consumer confidence jumped to 52.5 in March from 46.4 in February, well above the 51 economists had expected.

In the Forex market, the dollar continued to rise against the euro, as investors took profits after two days of gains and as unease persisted about the eurozone’s fiscal health. The dollar index is trading above the 81 mark.

In commodities, crude prices edged higher extending a near 3% gain in the previous session, as bright US economic data spurred optimism about recovery in the world’s largest energy consumer.

In metals after hitting a 19-month high, copper prices have slipped. Other metals like zinc too have shed nearly a percent.

Indian ADRs ended mixed on Tuesday. In IT space, Infosys was down 0.95% at $ 59.73 and Patni Computers was down 2.31% at $ 24.1 while Satyam Computers was up 0.38% at $ 5.24 and Wipro was up 0.3% at $ 23.4.

In Telecom space, Tata Communication was down 0.65% at $ 12.24 and MTNL was down 0.02% at $ 3.2695. In Banking space, HDFC Bank was down 1.27% at $ 136.38 while ICICI Bank was up 1.19% at $ 43.43.

In other sectors, Dr Reddy’s Labs was down 1.3% at $ 28.18 while Sterlite Industries was up 0.54% at $ 18.78 and Tata Motors was up 4.4% at $ 18.51.

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