US markets ended flat after a volatile intra-day session. Some disappointing earnings developments, a weak existing home sales report, and a spike in oil prices precipitated a sharp decline in the major indices. A late-day rally, however, made things look a lot better by the closing bell. Stocks reversed most of the earlier losses, helped by rumours that the Federal Reserve would soon cut the discount rate.

Investors have been clamoring for a cut with fresh evidence that the housing slump and summer's credit crisis continues to drag on the economy. Meanwhile Merrill Lynch said it wrote down $ 7.9 billion from its exposure to mortgage-related securities, while a new housing report showed existing home sales plunged last month.

The Dow was off just 0.98, or 0.01%, at 13,675.25. Broader stock indicators fell, but were also off earlier lows. The Standard & Poor's 500 index fell 3.71, or 0.24%, to 1,515.88, while the technology-dominated Nasdaq composite index lost 24.50, or 0.88%, to 2,774.76.

Major Indian ADRs end lower; Infosys, Satyam major losers

The Indian ADRs ended the day on a mixed note. Infosys and Satyam were amongst the major losers. In the technology pack, Infosys Technologies was down 4.06% at $ 48.44, Patni Computers was down 1.62% at $ 22.41, Satyam Computers was down 3.44% at $ 29.19, while Wipro ended the day 3.86% lower at $ 15.19.

In the non-technology pack, HDFC Bank was up 0.4% at $ 117.55, VSNL was up 1.03% at $ 27.41, ICICI Bank was down 2.47% at $ 58.40, MTNL was up 2.49% at $ 9.48, Tata Motors was down 2.43% at $ 19.68, Dr Reddy's Lab was down 1.7% at $ 16.15 and Sterlite was down 0.63% at $ 21.91.