US markets made a flat closing on Friday the fiscal cliff over hang kept looming on the minds of investors. The start of the day was good after the Thomson Reuters/University of Michigan index survey showed strong sentiment as American consumers felt more optimistic about employment prospects and the economic outlook. Banking shares rose after regulators issued a joint statement saying the Basel III accord, which required banks to raise more capital, would be delayed. However, stocks later trimmed gains after President Barack Obama said any deal with Congress to avert a fiscal crisis must come with higher taxes on the wealthiest Americans and also on a government report that wholesale inventories rose in September by the most in nine months. Inventories are a key element in the government's measure of economic growth.
Report from Reuters and the University of Michigan showed that the consumer sentiment index for November came in at 84.9 compared to the final October reading of 82.6. With the increase, the consumer sentiment index rose for the fourth straight month, reaching its highest level since July of 2007.
Dow Jones Industrial Average inched up 4.07 points or 0.03 percent to 12,815.39.The S&P 500 climbed 2.34 points or 0.17 percent to 1,379.85 and the Nasdaq rose 9.29 points or 0.32 percent to 2,904.87.
The Indian ADRs made a mixed closing, Infosys was up by 0.18%, Wipro was up by 0.02% and MTNL was up by 0.09%. On the other hand HDFC Bank was down by 0.12%, ICICI Bank was down by 0.13% and Tata Motors was down by 0.18%.