US markets finished flat – 15 April 2010

bank stocks got a boost on projections for a solid earnings season for the sector

In the US markets, it was a flat finish for equities. More than 10 billion shares were traded on the three major exchanges.

The Dow Jones is now 70% above the March 2009 lows, the S&P 500, 79% higher, while the Nasdaq has nearly doubled, registering a 97.4% gain since March 2009.

Intel, Chevron and CISCO were the key Dow gainers, while Walmart, Verizon and Coca-Cola were the key laggards. Bank stocks got a boost amid projections for a solid earnings season for the sector.

Citigroup hit $ 5 per share, a level it hasn’t seen since late last year, but then cooled off to close below that level. It was the most actively-traded stock on the New York Stock Exchange.

At the end of trade, the Dow Jones gained 21% at 11,144, the S&P 500 shut shop at 1,211. The Nasdaq closed 11 points higher at 2,515.

In economic news, weekly initial jobless claims were up more than expected to 484,000, while continuing claims climbed to a worse-than-expected 4.64 million.

The Philadelphia Fed reported its manufacturing index rose to 20.2 in April from 18.9 in March – just a tad better than expectations. But the empire state manufacturing survey blew forecasts jumping to 31.86 from 22.86. And industrial production ticked up 0.1% in March, economists had expected a more robust increase of 0.8%. Capacity utilization rose to 73.2% from 73.

On the housing front, home-builder sentiment rose more than expected to a seven-month high in April, according to the national association of homebuilders.

In forex market, the dollar rose for the first time in six days against the euro after the five-year Greek credit default swap prices rose to 455 basis points, exceeding a record closing high of 444 basis points hit a week ago.

Crude prices edged lower in choppy trading as a stronger dollar and mixed economic data pulled crude back from earlier gains that followed robust economic data from China.

Base metals too had a soft session on dollar strength.

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