The Nasdaq Composite ended in the green for 11th day, longest stretch since 1996; it was helped by Apple, which rallied 3.5% post good results.

By Varinder Bansal, CNBC-TV18

The US markets lost some momentum after rallying nearly 10% in last 7 trading sessions. They ended flat. The Nasdaq Composite ended in the green for 11th day, longest stretch since 1996; it was helped by Apple, which rallied 3.5% post good results.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average ended down 35 points at 8,881. The Nasdaq Composite was up 10 points at 1,927 and the S&P 500 was flat at 954.

Only 1 billion shares traded on the NYSE.

Asian markets picked up post opening. Hang Seng was up 1.8%. Jakarta and Straits Times were up 1%. Kospi, Taiwan and Nikkei were up 0.3%. SGX Nifty was up 0.9%.

European markets ended higher. DAX was up 0.5% and FTSE up 0.3%. CAC ended flat.

CBOE VIX (Chicago Board Options Exchange - Volatility Index) was down 1.7% at 23.47.

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Morgan Stanley, Wells Fargo results were below market expectations.

Morgan Stanley ended flat. Its loss was broader-than-expectations.

Wells Fargo was down 3.5%.

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