U.S. Stocks Showing A Lack Of Direction, Major Averages Narrowly Mixed

After ending the previous session modestly lower, 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.

Currently, the major averages are narrowly mixed. While the Dow is down 124.75 points or 0.3 percent at 38,944.48, the S&P 500 is up 1.39 points or less than a tenth of a percent at 5,070.92 and the Nasdaq is up 36.39 points or 0.2 percent at 16,012.64.

Uncertainty about the near-term outlook for the markets may be contributing to the choppy trading on Wall Street following last week’s advance by the Dow and S&P 500 to new record highs.

Traders may also be sticking to the sidelines ahead of the release of some key economic data later this week, including a closely watched inflation reading.

The Commerce Department’s report on personal income and spending, which is scheduled to be released on Thursday, includes a reading on consumer price inflation said to be preferred by the Federal Reserve.

The inflation data could have a notable impact on the outlook for interest rates, as Fed officials have said they need greater confidence inflation is slowing before cutting rates.

A report released by the Commerce Department this morning showed a substantial decrease by new orders for U.S. manufactured durable goods saw a substantial decrease in the month of January.

The Commerce Department said durable goods orders plunged by 6.1 percent in January after falling by a revised 0.3 percent in December.

Economists had expected durable goods orders to tumble by 4.5 percent compared to the unchanged reading that had been reported for the previous month.

Excluding a steep drop in orders for transportation equipment, durable goods orders dipped by 0.3 percent in January after edging down by 0.1 percent in December. Ex-transportation orders were expected to rise by 0.2 percent.

Meanwhile, the Conference Board released a report showing an unexpected deterioration in U.S. consumer confidence in the month of February.

The Conference Board said its consumer confidence index slid to 106.7 in February from a downwardly revised 110.9 in January.

The decrease surprised economists, who had expected the consumer confidence index to inch up to 115.0 from the 114.8 originally reported for the previous month.

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 strong move to the upside, however, with the NYSE Arca Airline Index climbing by 1.7 percent.

Banking and steel stocks are also seeing some strength, while oil producer stocks have moved lower despite an increase by the price of crude oil

Other Markets

In overseas trading, stocks across the Asia-Pacific region turned in a mixed performance on Tuesday. China’s Shanghai Composite Index jumped by 1.3 percent, while Japan’s Nikkei 225 Index closed nearly unchanged and South Korea’s Kospi slid by 0.8 percent.

Meanwhile, the major European markets have all moved to the upside on the day. While the German DAX Index has advanced by 0.7 percent, the French CAC 40 Index is up by 0.3 percent and the U.K.’s FTSE 100 Index is up by 0.1 percent.

In the bond market, treasuries have shown a lack of direction over the course of the session. Currently, the yield on the benchmark ten-year note, which moves opposite of its price, is down by 1.2 basis points at 4.287 percent.