Major Averages Lingering Near The Unchanged Line In Early Trading

(RTTNews) - After seeing substantial volatility over the past several days, stocks are turning in a lackluster performance in early trading on Friday. The major averages have been bouncing back and forth across the unchanged line.

The choppy trading on Wall Street comes as traders have moved to the sidelines following the big swings seen in recent sessions.

Stocks moved sharply higher over the two previous sessions, although the strong rebound came on the heels of a steep decline in the six preceding sessions.

Most of the major sectors are showing only modest moves in early trading, contributing to the lack of direction being shown by the broader markets.

Gold stocks are seeing substantial strength, however, with the NYSE Arca Gold Bugs Index jumping by 3.9 percent. The strength in the sector comes as gold for December delivery is climbing $14.10 to $1,136.70 an ounce.

Energy stocks are also seeing notable strength amid an increase by the price of crude oil, while weakness is visible among electronic storage stocks.

Currently, the major averages are posting modest losses on the day. The Dow is down 38.32 points or 0.2 percent at 16,616.45, the Nasdaq is down 1.89 points or less than 0.1 percent at 4,810.82 and the S&P 500 is down 1.29 points or 0.1 percent at 1,986.37.