Stocks Continue To Show A Lack Of Direction In Mid-Day Trading - U.S. Commentary

(RTTNews) - After ending the previous session roughly flat, stocks have continued to show a lack of direction throughout the trading day on Wednesday. The choppy trading comes following the release of a slew of U.S. economic data.

Currently, the major averages continue to turn in a mixed performance on the day. While the Dow is down 8.70 points or 0.1 percent at 17,806.24, the Nasdaq is up 16.69 points or 0.4 percent at 4,774.94 and the S&P 500 is up 2.46 points or 0.1 percent at 2,069.49.

With some data pushed forward by the Thanksgiving Day holiday on Thursday, several key economic reports were released this morning.

The Labor Department released a report before the start of trading showing an unexpected increase in initial jobless claims in the week ended November 22nd.

A series of reports from the Commerce Department showed modest increases in personal income and spending and new home sales as well as an unexpected rebound in durable goods orders.

Traders have also been presented with weaker than expected readings on consumer sentiment, pending home sales, and Chicago-area business activity.

The lack of market reaction to the data comes as some traders are already away from their desks ahead of the holiday on Thursday.

While trading will resume on Friday, activity is likely to be light amid an abbreviated session and a lack of major economic data.

Sector News

Despite the lack of direction being shown by the broader markets, considerable weakness is visible among oil service stocks. The Philadelphia Oil Service Index has fallen by 1.7 percent, with Diamond Offshore Drilling (DO) leading the way lower.

The weakness among oil service stocks comes even though the price of crude oil is nearly flat on the day, with crude for January delivery currently up $0.01 at $74.10 a barrel.

Gold stocks have also moved to the downside on the day, resulting in a 1.2 percent drop by the NYSE Arca Gold Bugs Index. A modest decrease by the price of gold is contributing to the weakness in the sector.

On the other hand, semiconductor stocks are turning in a strong performance in mid-day trading, with the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index up by 1.5 percent. With the gain, the index has reached its best intraday level in over thirteen years.

Analog Devices (ADI) has helped to lead the semiconductor sector higher after reporting better than expected fourth quarter results.

Other Markets

In overseas trading, most stock markets in the Asia-Pacific region moved higher on Wednesday. Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index and China's Shanghai Composite Index jumped 1.1 percent and 1.4 percent, respectively. However, Japan's Nikkei 225 Index bucked the uptrend and edged down by 0.1 percent.

Meanwhile, the major European markets turned in a mixed performance on the day. While the German DAX Index rose by 0.6 percent, the French CAC 40 Index dipped by 0.2 percent and the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index closed just below the unchanged line.

In the bond market, treasuries have moved modestly higher, extending the strong upward move seen in the previous session. Subsequently, the yield on the benchmark ten-year note, which moves opposite of its price, is down by 1.9 basis points at 2.241 percent.