US stocks erases early losses to end flat

The S&P 500 ended nearly flat on Tuesday as concerns about global weakness and political turmoil were offset by gains in technology and energy shares. The index managed to nearly erase a 1.3 per cent decline from earlier in the day, moving more than 26 points to its high of the day from its low. The S&P energy index ended up 0.9 per cent after losing 3.9 per cent on Monday. The Dow Jones industrial average fell 51.28 points, or 0.29 per cent, to 17,801.2, the S&P 500 lost 0.49 points, or 0.02 per cent, to 2,059.82 and the Nasdaq Composite added 25.77 points, or 0.54 per cent, to 4,766.47. The S&P telecom index lost 3.2 per cent while Verizon shares fell 4 per cent to $46.92. About 7.3 billion shares changed hands on US exchanges, above the 6.5b average this month. The S&P 500 is up 10.6 per cent from its Oct. 15 close and is up 11.4 per cent for the year so far. US-listed shares of Seadrill gained 5.2 per cent to $12.17, according to Reuters.