Major Averages Turning In Mixed Performance In Afternoon Trading

(RTTNews) - After moving to the upside early in the session, the major U.S. stock indexes have turned mixed over the course of the trading day on Wednesday. While the Dow and the S&P 500 remain in positive territory, the tech-heavy Nasdaq has dipped below the unchanged line.

Currently, the Dow is up 151.97 points or 0.4 percent at 35,609.28 and the S&P 500 is up 11.35 points or 0.3 percent at 4,530.98. Meanwhile, the Nasdaq has recently climbed off its worst levels but remains down 30.91 points or 0.2 percent at 15,098.18.

With the advanced on the day, the Dow and the S&P 500 are extending the upward trend seen over the past several sessions.

The Dow has reached a new record intraday high, while the S&P has reached its best intraday level since setting a record high in early September.

The continued strength on Wall Street comes as traders react positively to another batch of largely upbeat corporate earnings news.

Shares of Verizon (VZ) are seeing notable strength after the telecom giant reported better than expected third quarter earnings and raised its full-year guidance.

Biotechnology company Biogen (BIIB) has also moved to the upside after reporting third quarter results that exceeded analyst estimates and boosting its full-year forecast.

On the other hand, shares of Netflix (NFLX) have moved lower after the streaming giant reported third quarter earnings that beat expectations but provided disappointing guidance.

Shortly, the Federal Reserve is due to release its Beige Book, a compilation of anecdotal evidence on economic conditions in each of the twelve Fed districts.

The Beige Book may provide further clues about the Fed's plans for monetary policy, with the central bank widely expected to begin tapering its asset purchases as early as next month.

Sector News

Housing stocks are seeing significant strength in afternoon trading, with the Philadelphia Housing Sector Index jumping by 1.9 percent to its best intraday level in over a month.

Considerable strength also remains visible among utilities stocks, as reflected by the 1.7 percent gain being posted by the Dow Jones Utility Average. The average has also reached a one-month intraday high.

Banking stocks are also turning in a strong performance on the day, resulting in a 1.7 percent advance by the KBW Bank Index.

Commercial real estate, gold and telecom stocks are also seeing notable strength, while some weakness has emerged among oil service and software stocks.

Other Markets

In overseas trading, stock markets across the Asia-Pacific region turned in a mixed performance during trading on Wednesday. Japan's Nikkei 225 Index inched up by 0.1 percent, while China's Shanghai Composite Index edged down by 0.2 percent.

Meanwhile, the major European markets all moved to the upside on the day. While the French CAC 40 Index rose by 0.5 percent, U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index and the German DAX Index both crept up by 0.1 percent.

In the bond market, treasuries have shown a lack of direction over the course of the session. Subsequently, the yield on the benchmark ten-year note, which moves opposite of its price, is up by less than a basis point at 1.641 percent.