Major Averages Finish Choppy Trading Session Modestly Lower

Stocks showed a lack of direction over the course of the trading session on Tuesday, with the major averages bouncing back and forth across the unchanged line following the strong upward move seen in the previous session.

The major averages eventually ended the day modestly lower. The Dow slipped 57.35 points or 0.1 percent to 40,358.09, the Nasdaq edged down 10.22 points or 0.1 percent to 17,997.35 and the S&P 500 dipped 8.67 points or 0.2 percent to 5,555.74.

The choppy trading on Wall Street came as traders expressed some uncertainty about the outlook for the markets following recent volatility.

Stocks moved sharply higher over the course of the trading session on Monday, with technology stocks seeing a significant rebound following last week’s sell-off.

Traders may also have been reluctant to make significant moves ahead of the release of key earnings and economic news in the coming days.

On the earnings front, Google parent Alphabet (GOOGL) and electric vehicle maker Tesla (TSLA) are among the companies due to release their quarterly results after the close of today’s trading.

Later in the week, focus is likely to shift to a report on personal income and spending in June, which includes readings on inflation said to be preferred by the Federal Reserve.

The data could have a significant impact on the outlook for interest rates, with the Fed currently widely expected to lower interest rates by a quarter point in September.

Sector News

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

Oil producer stocks showed a significant move to the downside, however, with the NYSE Arca Oil Index falling by 1.9 percent. The weakness among oil producer stocks came amid a steep drop by the price of crude oil.

Considerable weakness was also visible among transportation stocks, as reflected by the 1.5 percent loss posted by the Dow Jones Transportation Average.

Semiconductor and natural gas stocks also moved to the downside, while networking stocks showed a strong move to the upside.

Other Markets

In overseas trading, stock markets across the Asia-Pacific region turned in a mixed performance during trading on Tuesday. Japan’s Nikkei 225 Index closed just below the unchanged and China’s Shanghai Composite Index slumped by 1.7 percent, while South Korea’s Kospi rose by 0.4 percent.

The major European markets also ended the day mixed. While the German DAX Index advanced by 0.8 percent, the French CAC 40 Index and the U.K.’s FTSE 100 Index fell by 0.4 percent and 0.3 percent, respectively.

In the bond market, treasuries moved higher after trending lower over the past few sessions. As a result, the yield on the benchmark ten-year note, which moves opposite of its price, dipped by 2.1 basis points to 4.239 percent.