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

Following the volatility seen over the past several sessions, stocks are turning in a relatively lackluster performance during trading on Tuesday. The S&P 500 has spent the day bouncing back and forth across the unchanged line.

Currently, the major averages are narrowly mixed. While the Nasdaq is down 14.40 points or 0.1 percent at 15,583.27, the S&P 500 is up 0.47 points or less than a tenth of a percent at 4,943.28 and the Dow is up 83.81 points or 0.2 percent at 38,463.93.

The choppy trading on Wall Street comes as some traders may be reluctant to make significant moves amid uncertainty about the near-term outlook for the markets the following recent volatility.

Stocks fell sharply following the Federal Reserve’s monetary policy announcement last Wednesday but rebounded to record highs over the following two sessions only to pullback sharply once again in early trading on Monday.

While the major averages climbed well off yesterday’s early lows, fading optimism the Fed will lower interest rates in March continues to hang over the markets.

Fed Chair Jerome Powell has said the central bank is unlikely to cut rates in March and the chances of a rate cut next month have fallen to just 19.5 percent, according to CME Group’s FedWatch Tool

A lack of major U.S. economic data may also be keeping some traders on the sidelines, although remarks by several Fed officials may attract attention later in the day.

Among individual stocks, shares of Palantir Technologies (PLTR) have skyrocketed by 25.2 percent after the data analytics provider reported better than expected fourth quarter revenues amid strong demand for its artificial intelligence offerings.

Audio streaming service provider Spotify (SPOT) has also surged by 8.3 percent after reporting stronger than expected fourth quarter subscriber growth and providing upbeat guidance.

On the other hand, shares of Rambus (RMBS) have tumbled by 12.8 percent after the chipmaker reported a year-over-year decline in fourth quarter revenue.

Sector News

Most of the major sectors are showing only modest moves on the day, contributing to the lackluster performance by the broader markets.

Airline stocks have shown a substantial move back to the upside, however, with the NYSE Arca Airline Index soaring by 3.5 percent after plunging by 2.9 percent on Monday.

An increase by the price of crude oil is also contributing to considerable strength among oil service stocks, resulting in a 2.0 percent jump by the Philadelphia Oil Service Index.

Oil producer, steel and commercial real estate stocks are also seeing significant strength, while semiconductor stocks have moved notably lower.

Other Markets

In overseas trading, stock markets across the Asia-Pacific region turned in a mixed performance on Tuesday. Japan’s Nikkei 225 Index fell by 0.5 percent, while China’s Shanghai Composite Index and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index spiked by 3.2 percent and 4.0 percent, respectively.

Meanwhile, the major European markets have all moved to the upside on the day. While the U.K.’s FTSE 100 Index has climbed by 0.6 percent, the French CAC 40 Index is up by 0.5 percent and the German DAX Index is up by 0.4 percent.

In the bond market, treasuries are regaining ground after moving sharply lower over the two previous sessions. Subsequently, the yield on the benchmark ten-year note, which moves opposite of its price, is down by 5.2 basis points at 4.112 percent.

Business News