After moving to the upside early in the session, stocks have shown a lack of direction over the course of the trading day on Tuesday. The major averages have spent the day bouncing back and forth across the unchanged line, extending the lackluster performance seen last Friday.
Currently, the major averages are narrowly mixed. While the S&P 500 is up 2.31 points or less than a tenth of a percent at 6,116.94, the Nasdaq is down 14.33 points or 0.1 percent at 20,012.45 and the Dow is down 90.84 points or 0.2 percent at 44,455.24.
The choppy trading on Wall Street comes as some traders remain on the sidelines following the Presidents’ Day holiday on Monday.
Traders may also be expressing some uncertainty about the outlook for markets after last week’s strong gains lifted the Nasdaq and the S&P 500 back within striking distance of their record highs.
The S&P 500 ended last Thursday’s trading just shy of the record closing high set in January before edging slightly lower on Friday.
Last week’s gains came after President Donald Trump signed a memorandum calling on members of his administration to review plans for reciprocal tariffs on U.S. trade partners but stopped short of imposing the tariffs.
On the U.S. economic front, a report released by the Federal Reserve Bank of New York showed a turnaround by regional manufacturing activity in the month of February.
The New York Fed said its general business conditions index jumped to a positive 5.7 in February from a negative 12.6 in January, with a positive reading indicating growth. Economists had expected the index to climb to a negative 1.0.
Meanwhile, the report said optimism about the outlook for conditions over the next six months dropped significantly, with the index for future business activity slumping to 22.2 in February from 36.7 in January.
A separate report released by the National Association of Home Builders showed homebuilder confidence in the U.S. has unexpectedly deteriorated in the month of February.
The report said the NAHB/Wells Fargo Housing Market Index slumped to 42 in February after inching up to 47 in January. Economists had expected the index to come in unchanged.
Sector News
Reflecting the lackluster performance by the broader markets, most of the major sectors are showing only modest moves on the day.
Computer hardware stocks have moved sharply higher, however, with the NYSE Arca Computer Hardware Index surging by 2.1 percent to a new record intraday high.
Significant strength is also visible among steel stocks, as reflected by the 1.9 percent gain being posted by the NYSE Arca Steel Index.
Airline, semiconductor and oil producer stocks are also seeing considerable strength on the day, while retail stocks have shown a notable move to the downside.
Other Markets
In overseas trading, stock markets across the Asia-Pacific region turned in a mixed performance on Tuesday. Japan’s Nikkei 225 Index rose by 0.3 percent and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index jumped by 1.6 percent, while China’s Shanghai Composite Index slid by 0.9 percent.
Meanwhile, European stocks have moved modestly higher on the day. While the German DAX Index is up by 0.3 percent and the French CAC 40 Index is up by 0.2 percent, U.K.’s FTSE 100 Index is nearly unchanged.
In the bond market, treasuries are giving back ground after moving notably higher over the two previous sessions. Subsequently, the yield on the benchmark ten-year note, which moves opposite of its price, is up by 5.1 basis points at 4.527 percent.
Business News
U.S. Stocks Turning In Another Lackluster Performance
2025-02-18 17:09:37
