Profit Taking Contributes To Early Weakness On Wall Street - U.S. Commentary

(RTTNews) - Following the strong upward move seen in the previous week, stocks have given back some ground in early trading on Monday. The major averages moved lower at the start of trading and have seen some further downside since then.

Currently, the major averages are just off their lows for the young session. The Dow is down 82.25 points or 0.5 percent at 17,469.92, the Nasdaq is down 35.57 points or 0.7 percent at 5,012.92 and the S&P 500 is down 12.65 points or 0.6 percent at 2,048.34.

Profit taking has contributed to early weakness on Wall Street, as traders cash in on the strong gains posted last week.

Trading activity has remained relatively subdued, however, with some traders still away from their desks following the Christmas holiday.

The upcoming week will also be holiday-shortened due to the New Year's Day holiday, which will keep the markets closed on Friday.

The economic calendar for the week is relatively light, although traders are likely to keep an eye on reports on consumer confidence, pending home sales, and Chicago-area business activity.

Gold stocks have shown a substantial move to the downside on the day, dragging the NYSE Arca Gold Bugs Index down by 2.9 percent. The weakness in the sector comes as gold for February delivery is sliding $5.20 to $1,070.70 an ounce.

Significant weakness is also visible among energy stocks, which are moving lower along with the price of crude oil. Crude for February delivery is tumbling $1.28 to $36.82 a barrel.

Steel, airline, computer hardware, and semiconductor stocks are also seeing notable weakness, moving lower along with most of the other major sectors.

In overseas trading, stock markets across the Asia-Pacific region turned in a mixed performance during trading on Monday. Japan's Nikkei 225 Index climbed by 0.6 percent, while Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index slumped by 1 percent.

Meanwhile, the major European markets have moved to the downside on the day, with the U.K. markets closed for a holiday. The German DAX Index is down by 0.5 percent, while the French CAC 40 Index is down by 0.8 percent.

In the bond market, treasuries are turning in a lackluster performance amid the absence of any major U.S. economic data. As a result, the yield on the benchmark ten-year note, which moves opposite of its price, is down by less than a basis point at 2.239 percent.