Nasdaq Firmly Positive In Mid-Day Trading But Dow Remains In The Red

After moving in opposite directions earlier in the session, the major U.S. stock indexes continue to turn in a mixed performance in mid-day trading on Friday. While the S&P 500 has joined the Nasdaq in positive territory, the Dow remains in the red.

The Nasdaq reached a new high for the session in recent trading and is currently up 99.16 points or 0.8 percent at 13,215.32. The S&P 500 is also up 3.78 points or 0.1 percent at 3,919.24, but the Dow is down 163.18 points or 0.5 percent at 32,699.12

The rebound by the Nasdaq comes as traders look to pick up technology stocks at reduced levels following the 3 percent nosedive by the tech-heavy index on Thursdays.

Traders are keeping a close eye on activity in the bond market after a spike in treasury yields contributed to yesterday’s sell-off by tech stocks.

Yields pulled back sharply at the start of trading but subsequently rebounded and are currently modestly lower.

Meanwhile, a steep drop by shares of Nike (NKE) is weighing on the Dow after the athletic apparel and footwear giant reported fiscal third quarter earnings that beat expectations but weaker than expected revenues.

Financial stocks have also moved to the downside after the Federal Reserve said a temporary change to the supplementary leverage ratio, or SLR, for depository institutions will expire as scheduled on March 31, 2021.

The temporary change, which allowed banks to hold less capital against Treasuries and other holdings, was made to provide flexibility for depository institutions to provide credit to households and businesses in light of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Sector News

Energy stocks have shown a significant rebound after falling sharply in the previous session, benefiting from a bounceback by the price of crude oil. After plummeting $4.60 to $60 a barrel on Thursday, crude for April delivery is climbing $0.81 to $60.81 a barrel.

Reflecting the strength in the energy sector, the NYSE Arca Natural Gas Index is up by 2.1 percent, the NYSE Arca Oil Index is up by 1.8 percent and the Philadelphia Oil Service Index is up by 1.5 percent.

Notable strength has also emerged among semiconductor stocks, as reflected by the 1.2 percent gain being posted by the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index.

Biotechnology, retail and computer hardware stocks are also seeing some strength on the day, while weakness remains visible among banking stocks.

Other Markets

In overseas trading, stock markets across the Asia-Pacific region moved mostly lower during trading on Friday. Japan’s Nikkei 225 Index tumbled by 1.4 percent, while China’s Shanghai Composite Index dove by 1.7 percent.

The major European markets have also moved to the downside on the day. The French CAC 40 Index, the German DAX Index and the U.K.’s FTSE 100 Index are all down by 0.8 percent.

In the bond market, treasuries are modestly higher after seeing early volatility. Subsequently, the yield on the benchmark ten-year note, which moves opposite of its price, is down by 1.6 basis points at 1.714 percent.

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