U.S. Stocks Turning In Mixed Performance

After ending the previous session in positive territory, the major U.S. stock indexes are turning in a mixed performance during trading on Wednesday. While the Nasdaq has risen to a two-month intraday high, the Dow has moved to the downside.

Currently, the Dow is down 96.42 points or 0.5 percent at 42,011.80, while the S&P 500 is up 0.91 points or less than a tenth of a percent at 5,733.84 and the Nasdaq is up 53.88 points or 0.3 percent at 18,128.40.

The mixed performance on Wall Street comes as traders express some uncertainty about the near-term outlook for the markets following recent strength, which has lifted the Dow and the S&P 500 to record highs.

Traders are also looking for the next major catalyst for the markets after the Federal Reserve decided to begin lowering interest rates last week.

In the coming days, trading may be impacted by reaction to reports on weekly jobless claims, durable goods orders and personal income and spending.

The Commerce Department released a report this morning showing new home sales pulled back sharply in the month of August.

The Commerce Department said new home sales plunged by 4.7 percent to an annual rate of 716,000 in August after soaring by 10.3 percent to a revised rate of 751,000 in July.

Economists had expected new home sales to tumble by 5.3 percent to a rate of 700,000 from the 739,000 originally reported for the previous month.

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

Oil service stocks have shown a significant move to the downside, however, with the Philadelphia Oil Service Index tumbling by 2.2 percent. The weakness in the sector comes amid a decrease by the price of crude oil.

Tobacco, housing and banking stocks are also seeing some weakness, while strength is visible among semiconductor stocks.

In overseas trading, stock markets across the Asia-Pacific region turned in a mixed performance during trading on Wednesday. Japan’s Nikkei 225 Index dipped by 0.2 percent, while China’s Shanghai Composite Index jumped by 1.2 percent.

Meanwhile, the major European markets have all moved to the downside on the day. While the French CAC 40 Index is down by 0.5 percent, the German DAX Index is down by 0.4 percent and the U.K.’s FTSE 100 Index is down by 0.3 percent.

In the bond market, treasuries have come under pressure after ending the previous session roughly flat. As a result, the yield on the benchmark ten-year note, which moves opposite of its price, is up by 4.1 basis points at 3.777 percent.