Nasdaq Firmly In The Red But Dow Posting Modest Gain - U.S. Commentary

(RTTNews) - While the tech-heavy Nasdaq has slid firmly into negative territory, the Dow and the S&P 500 have shown a lack of direction over the course of the trading day on Thursday.

Currently, the major averages are turning in a mixed performance. The Nasdaq is down 27.30 points or 0.6 percent at 4,763.85, while the Dow is up 28.86 points or 0.2 percent at 16,941.15 and the S&P 500 is up 0.43 points or less than a tenth of a percent at 1,996.26.

The notable decline by the Nasdaq is partly due to a significant decrease by shares of Apple (AAPL), with the tech giant sliding by 1.8 percent.

Substantial weakness among biotechnology is also weighing on the index along with weakness in the internet sector.

Meanwhile, the Dow is currently being supported by strong gains by DuPont (DD), Chevron (CVX), and Caterpillar (CAT).

The overall choppy trading on Wall Street partly reflects uncertainty about the upcoming earnings season, with Alcoa (AA) set to release its third quarter results after the close of trading.

The release of results from Alcoa is seen as the unofficial start of earning season, as the aluminum giant is typically the first major company to report its results.

Analysts currently expect Alcoa to report earnings of $0.14 per share compared to $0.31 per share in the year-ago quarter. Revenues are expected to fall to $5.68 billion from $6.24 billion.

Traders may also be looking ahead to the release of the minutes of the Federal Reserve's latest monetary policy meeting this afternoon.

The minutes, due at 2 pm ET, could shed some light on the outlook for interest rates after the Fed's decision to leave rates unchanged following the meeting.

Sector News

As mentioned above, biotechnology stocks have shown a significant move to the downside on the day, dragging the NYSE Arca Biotechnology Index down by 2.1 percent. The index has partly offset the strong gain posted in the previous session.

Exact Sciences (EXAS) has helped to lead the biotech sector lower, with the molecular diagnostics company plunging by 21.4 percent to a two-year low.

Considerable weakness is also visible among internet stocks, as reflected by the 1.1 percent loss being posted by the Dow Jones Internet Index. Shares of eBay (EBAY) have shown a steep drop, tumbling by 7.7 percent.

On the other hand, steel stocks have moved notably higher on the day, driving the NYSE Arca Steel Index up by 2.1 percent. With the gain, the index is poised to end the session at its best closing level in over a month.

Gold, electronic storage, railroad, and networking stocks are also seeing significant strength in mid-day trading.

Other Markets

In overseas trading, stock markets across the Asia-Pacific region turned in a mixed performance during trading on Thursday. Japan's Nikkei 225 Index slumped by 1 percent, while China's Shanghai Composite Index surged up by 3 percent.

Meanwhile, the major European markets all moved higher on the day. While the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index climbed by 0.6 percent, the German DAX Index and the French CAC 40 Index both edged up by 0.2 percent.

In the bond market, treasuries have moved modestly lower after initially showing a lack of direction. As a result, the yield on the benchmark ten-year note, which moves opposite of its price, is up 1.7 basis points at 2.079 percent.