US stocks finished mixed to higher Tuesday with the Nasdaq leading tech-fueled gains, but with some weakness seen in the broad market after reduced sales forecasts from two major retailers and better-than-expected existing home sales for August.

Stocks pared losses from early in the session to trade largely flat when investors tried to balance concerns about weakness in the economy with hopes that lackluster indications about the health of the consumer and the housing market could bolster the case for lower interest rates. Meanwhile, falling energy prices appeared to lend some support to stocks.

Traders weighed a series of negative reports from companies whose fortunes are tied to the health of the consumer. Retailers Target Corp. and Lowe's Cos. trimmed their expectations for the year because of slowing sales, while homebuilder Lennar Corp. posted a fiscal third-quarter loss and sharply lower revenues. The latest economic reports offered fresh evidence that consumer sentiment is taking a hit amid the worst housing slump in more than a decade.

Broader stock indicators were mixed. The Standard & Poor's 500 slipped 0.52, or 0.03%, to 1,517.21, while the Nasdaq composite rose 15.50, or 0.58%, to 2,683.45. The Russell 2000 index of smaller companies fell 2.80, or 0.35%, to 803.00. Bonds prices rose, with the yield on the benchmark 10-year note falling to 4.61% from 4.62% late Monday. The dollar resumed its decline against the euro -- the fourth session in which it hit record lows. Meanwhile, gold edged lower after a recent run-up.

A barrel of light, sweet crude fell $ 1.42 to $ 79.53 on the New York Mercantile Exchange. It was the first time in more than a week that oil closed below $ 80 per barrel; last week oil neared $ 84 a barrel. At the New York Stock Exchange, nearly 1.3 billion shares were exchanged, with declining stocks topping advancers about 10 to 7. At the Nasdaq, more than 1.8 billion shares traded, and declining issues ran ahead of advancers 4 to 3.


Indian ADRs end mixed

Indian ADRs had a mixed session yesterday. Tech ADRs recovered from their weakness, but the non-techs suffered. In the technology pack, Infosys Technologies was up 0.52% at 46.21, Patni Computers was down 2.38% at 22.53, Satyam Computers was up 1.82% at 24.03, while Wipro ended the day 0.58% higher at 13.90.

In the non-technology pack, HDFC Bank was up 0.51% at 103.46, VSNL was down 1.27% at 21.72, ICICI Bank was down 0.02% at 51.20, MTNL was down 0.25% at 7.94, Tata Motors was up 0.05% at 18.51, Dr Reddy's Lab was down 0.31% at 16.10 and Sterlite was down 0.28% at 17.95.