U.S. Stocks Turning In Lackluster Performance Following Recent Volatility

Stocks have shown a lack of direction over the course of morning trading on Wednesday, with the major averages bouncing back and forth across the unchanged line following the strong upward move seen over the two previous sessions.

Currently, the major averages are turning in a mixed performance. While the Dow is up 38.02 points or 0.1 percent at 30,561.82, the Nasdaq is down 51.92 points or 0.5 percent at 10,720.48 and the S&P 500 is down 13.57 points or 0.4 percent at 3,706.41.

The choppy trading on Wall Street comes as traders express some uncertainty about the near-term outlook for the markets following recent volatility.

Stocks started the week off on an upbeat note, recovering from their worst levels in almost two years, but traders seem reluctant to continue making significant bets.

Concerns about higher interest rates and the impact on the global economy continue to hang over the markets amid a surge in treasury yields.

The uptick by the Dow comes amid strong gains by Procter & Gamble (PG) and Travelers (TRV), which have moved to the upside after reporting better than expected quarterly results.

Streaming giant Netflix (NFLX) has also moved sharply higher on the day after reporting third quarter earnings and revenue that beat analyst estimates on strong subscriber growth.

Later in the day, the Federal Reserve is scheduled to release its Beige Book, a compilation of anecdotal evidence on economic conditions in each of the twelve Fed districts.

Housing stocks have pulled back sharply in morning trading, dragging the Philadelphia Housing Sector Index down by 3.3 percent.

The weakness among housing stocks comes after the Commerce Department released a report showing housing starts tumbled by more than expected in the month of September.

Considerable weakness has also emerged among gold stocks, as reflected by the 2.8 percent slump by the NYSE Arca Gold Bugs Index.

Gold stocks are moving lower along with the price of the precious metal, with gold for December delivery falling $16.50 to $1,639.30 an ounce.

Biotechnology, banking and pharmaceutical stocks are also seeing notable weakness, while energy stocks are showing strong moves to the upside.

In overseas trading, stock markets across the Asia-Pacific region turned in a mixed performance during trading on Wednesday. Japan’s Nikkei 225 Index rose by 0.4 percent, while China’s Shanghai Composite Index slumped by 1.2 percent.

Meanwhile, European stocks have shown a lack of direction over the course of the session. While the French CAC 40 Index is down by 0.2 percent, the U.K.’s FTSE 100 Index is just above the unchanged line and the German DAX Index is up by 0.1 percent.

In the bond market, treasuries have moved back to the downside after ending the previous session modestly higher. Subsequently, the yield on the benchmark ten-year note, which moves opposite of its price, is up by 10 basis points at 4.098 percent.

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