Stocks Continue To Experience Choppy Trading - U.S. Commentary

(RTTNews) - After initially showing a lack of direction, stocks have continued to experience choppy trading over the course of the session on Friday. The lackluster performance comes on the heels of the substantial volatility seen in recent sessions.

In recent trading, the major averages briefly jumped into positive territory before pulling back into the red. The Dow is down 63.74 points or 0.4 percent at 16,591.03, the Nasdaq is down 7.54 points or 0.2 percent at 4,805.17 and the S&P 500 is down 5.24 points or 0.3 percent at 1,982.42.

The choppiness seen in recent trading was partly in reaction to comments by Federal Reserve Vice Chairman Stanley Fischer about the outlook for interest rates.

In an interview with CNBC, Fischer said it was too early to tell if the Fed will raise rates in September but noted that the central bank is heading in the direction of raising rates.

"We've got a little over two weeks before we make the decision," Fischer said. "And we've got time to wait and see the incoming data, and see what is going on now in the economy."

Fischer's remarks may lead to continued volatility in the coming weeks as traders focus on the incoming economic data, particularly next Friday's monthly jobs report.

The Commerce Department released a report this morning showing that personal income increased in line with economist estimates in the month of July.

The report said personal income rose by 0.4 percent, matching the increases seen in the three previous months as well as the consensus estimate.

Personal spending increased by 0.3 percent for the second consecutive month, although economists had expected spending to climb by 0.4 percent.

A separate report from the University of Michigan showed an unexpected downward revision to its consumer sentiment index for August.

Sector News

Electronic storage stocks have shown a significant move to the downside on the day, dragging the NYSE Arca Disk Drive Index down by 2.4 percent.

The index is giving back ground after moving sharply higher in the two previous sessions but remains well off the two-year closing low set on Tuesday.

Notable weakness has also emerged among utilities stocks, as reflected by the 1.4 percent drop by the Dow Jones Utilities Average. Public Service Enterprise Group (PEG) is leading the sector lower.

Pharmaceutical and healthcare stocks have also moved to the downside, while energy stocks are seeing substantial strength amid a sharp increase by the price of crude oil.

Crude oil for October delivery is jumping $2.49 to $45.05 a barrel after surging up $3.96 to $42.56 barrel in the previous session.

Other Markets

In overseas trading, stock markets across the Asia-Pacific region moved mostly higher on Friday. Japan's Nikkei 225 Index surged up by 3 percent, while Australia's All Ordinaries Index rose by 0.6 percent. However, Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index bucked the uptrend and slid by 1 percent.

Meanwhile, the major European markets turned in a mixed performance on the day. While the German DAX Index edged down by 0.2 percent, the French CAC 40 Index rose by 0.4 percent and the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index advanced by 0.9 percent.

In the bond market, treasuries have turned modestly lower after seeing early strength. Subsequently, the yield on the benchmark ten-year note, which moves opposite of its price, is up by 1.3 basis points at 2.181 percent.