Stocks Close Roughly Flat Following Choppy Trading Day - U.S. Commentary

(RTTNews) - Following the strong upward move seen over the course of the previous session, stocks showed a lack of direction throughout the trading day on Wednesday. The major averages eventually ended the session on opposite sides of the unchanged line.

While the tech-heavy Nasdaq rose 13.54 points or 0.3 percent to a one-month closing high of 4,801.18, the Dow slipped 6.62 points or less than a tenth of a percent to 17,862.14 and the S&P 500 edged down 0.06 points to 2,068.53.

The choppy trading on Wall Street partly reflected uncertainty about ongoing Greek debt negotiations as Greek Finance Minister Yanis Varoufakis met with the other European finance ministers in Brussels.

Ahead of the meeting, Eurogroup Chairman Jeroen Dijsselbloem told the Dutch parliament any changes to Greece's bailout program must be in line with existing agreements.

"An agreement is an agreement," Dijsselbloem said, according to Reuters. "That means that only within the program, measures could be exchanged for other measures."

Dijsselbloem reportedly said any changes would have to be approved by the troika of international lenders but cautioned that today's meeting is not likely to result in any final outcome on the path ahead.

Media reports generated some optimism about the meeting on Tuesday, although German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble also predicted that the meeting will not result in a new bailout agreement.

Peter Boockvar, managing director at the Lindsey Group, said, "It's now getting exhausting talking about Greece everyday but hopefully we're coming to a near end in this current episode of 'should I stay or should I go now.'"

Boockvar said the Greek Finance Minister is expected to present the new government's formal demands, including a request for a 10 billion euro bridge loan to buy them more time to negotiate.

The focus on the situation in Greece came amid another quiet day on the U.S. economic front, although reports on weekly jobless claims, retail sales, and consumer sentiment are due in the coming days.

Among individual stocks, shares of Pier 1 Imports (PIR) moved sharply lower on the day after the retailer cut its guidance for 2015 and announced the retirement of CFO Charles Turner.

Internet company AOL (AOL) also came under pressure after reporting fourth quarter earnings that beat analyst estimates but on weaker than expected revenues.

Meanwhile, shares of PepsiCo (PEP) moved to the upside after the beverage and snack giant reported better than expected fourth quarter results.

Sector News

Reflecting the lack of direction shown by the broader markets, most of the major sectors ended the day showing only modest moves.

Utilities stocks saw see substantial weakness, however, with the Dow Jones Utilities Average tumbling by 2.4 percent. The average offset the strong gain posted in the previous session, falling to its lowest closing level in almost two months.

NiSource (NI), CenterPoint Energy (CNP), and Dominion Resources (D) turned in some of the utilities sector's worst performances.

Considerable weakness was also visible among gold stocks, which moved lower along with the price of the precious metal. With gold for April delivery falling $12.60 to $1,219.60 an ounce, the NYSE Arca Gold Bugs Index dropped by 2 percent.

While energy stocks also came under pressure amid a decrease by the price of crude oil, notable strength was visible among tobacco and railroad stocks.

Other Markets

In overseas trading, stock markets across the Asia-Pacific region turned in yet another mixed performance on Wednesday, with the Japanese markets closed for a holiday. Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index slumped by 0.9 percent, while China's Shanghai Composite Index advanced by 0.5 percent.

Meanwhile, the major European markets all moved modestly lower on the day. While the French CAC 40 Index fell by 0.4 percent, the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index edged down by 0.2 percent and the German DAX Index closed just below the unchanged line.

In the bond market, treasuries ended the day roughly flat after recovering from some weakness in morning trading. Subsequently, the yield on the benchmark ten-year note, which moves opposite of its price, edged down by less than a basis point to 1.988 percent.

Looking Ahead

Following several quiet days on the U.S. economic front, reports on weekly jobless claims, retail sales, and business inventories are likely to attract some attention on Thursday.

Trading could also be impacted by reaction to earnings news from tech giant Cisco Systems (CSCO), which is releasing its second quarter results after the close of today's trading.