5th Jan 2016 17:17
WASHINGTON (Alliance News) - Following the sell-off seen in the previous session, stocks have experienced choppy trading on Tuesday. The major averages have recently moved to the downside but have had difficulty sustaining any significant moves.
Currently, the major averages are near their lows for the session. The Dow is down 85.95 points or 0.5% at 17,062.99, the Nasdaq is down 23.88 points or 0.5% at 4,879.21 and the S&P 500 is down 5.48 points or 0.3% at 2,007.18.
The lackluster performance on Wall Street comes as traders are expressing some uncertainty about the outlook for the markets following the steep losses posted on Monday.
A lack of major US economic data may also be keeping some traders on the sidelines ahead of the release of some key economic reports in the coming days.
The monthly jobs report due on Friday is likely to be in the spotlight, although traders are also likely to keep an eye on reports on private sector employment, international trade and service sector activity.
The minutes of the latest Federal Reserve meeting are also likely to attract attention, as the central bank raised interest rates for the first time in nearly a decade following the meeting.
Among individual stocks, shares of Smith & Wesson (SWHC) are moving sharply higher on the day after the gun maker raised its third quarter and full year guidance.
Smith & Wesson said the sell-through rate of its products at distribution has been stronger than originally anticipated, resulting in reduced distributor inventories of its firearms.
The news comes as President Barack Obama has announced a series of executive actions aimed at reducing gun violence in the US
Solar equipment maker First Solar (FSLR) is also seeing notable strength after Goldman Sachs upgraded its rating on the company's stock to Buy from Neutral.
On the other hand, shares of Ford (F) and General Motors (GM) have come under pressure even though both auto giants reported strong December sales growth.
Sector News
Most of the major sectors are showing only modest moves on the day, although substantial weakness is visible among oil service stocks. The Philadelphia Oil Service Index is down by 2.8% after bucking the downtrend on Monday.
The weakness among oil service stocks comes amid a decrease by the price of crude oil, with crude for February delivery sliding USD0.55 to USD36.21 a barrel.
Railroad and airline stocks are also seeing considerable weakness in mid-day trading, with the Dow Jones Railroads Index and the NYSE Arca Airline Index falling by 1.5% and 1.1%, respectively.
Among airline stocks, Republic Airways (RJET) is posting a particularly seep loss after Deutsche Bank downgraded the regional airline to Hold from Buy.
On the other hand, commercial real estate stocks have shown a strong move to the upside, driving the Morgan Stanley REIT Index up by 1.3%. Tobacco and trucking stocks are also seeing some strength.
Other Markets
In overseas trading, most stock markets across the Asia-Pacific region saw further downside during trading on Tuesday. Japan's Nikkei 225 Index fell by 0.4%, while Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index slid by 0.7%.
Meanwhile, the major European markets regained some ground on the day. While the UK's FTSE 100 Index advanced by 0.7%, the French CAC 40 Index and the German DAX Index both rose by 0.3%.
In the bond market, treasuries have moved modestly higher over the course of the session. As a result, the yield on the benchmark ten-year note, which moves opposite of its price, is down by 1.8 basis points at 2.227%.
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