Major Averages Close Mixed Following Lackluster Session - U.S. Commentary

(RTTNews) - Stocks showed a lack of direction during trading on Friday before ending the session rough flat. The major averages ended the day on opposite sides of the unchanged line.

The major averages ended the session mixed. While the Dow edged down 22.10 points or 1 percent to 25,964.82, the S&P 500 inched up 0.39 points or less than a tenth of a percent to 2,901.52 and the Nasdaq rose 21.17 points or 0.percent to 8,109.54.

The choppy trading on Wall Street comes after President Donald Trump warned that he could pull the United States out of the World Trade Organization

Trump claimed he would evacuate the international trading group if it doesn't treat the U.S. better, making it the latest agreement to be targeted as part of the president's "America First" trade strategy.

"If they don't shape up, I would withdraw from the WTO," Trump told Bloomberg News in an Oval Office interview on Thursday.

According to Trump, the treaty establishing the trade body was "the single worst trade deal ever made."

Traders are also expressing uncertainty ahead of a deadline for U.S. and Canadian officials to reach a new NAFTA agreement.

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

In overseas trading, stock markets across the Asia-Pacific region moved mostly lower during trading on Friday. Japan's Nikkei 225 Index closed just below the unchanged line, while Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index slumped by 1 percent.

The major European markets also moved to the downside on the day. While the French CAC 40 Index slumped by 1.3 percent, the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index and the German DAX Index tumble by 1.1 percent and 1 percent, respectively.

In the bond market, treasuries extended the downward move seen in the previous session. As a result, the yield on the benchmark ten-year note, which moves opposite of its price, fell by 3.1 basis points at 2.853 percent.