Stocks Showing A Lack Of Direction In Early Trading - U.S. Commentary

(RTTNews) - Stocks are showing a lack of direction in early trading on Monday after showing a strong move to the upside last week. The major averages have been bouncing back and forth across the unchanged line, unable to sustain any significant moves.

Currently, the major averages are nearly flat, showing moves of less than a tenth of a percent. While the Nasdaq is up 1.01 points at 5,211.15, the Dow is down 3.24 points at 18,083.21 and the S&P 500 is down 0.83 points at 2,125.81.

The choppy trading on Wall Street comes as traders are staying on the sidelines amid the lack of major U.S. economic data due to be released on the day.

The economic calendar remains relatively light throughout the week, although reports on weekly jobless claims and new and existing home sales are likely to attract some attention.

Traders may also be reluctant to make significant bets ahead of the release of earnings news from a number of big-name companies in the coming days.

Apple (AAPL), Yahoo (YHOO), Verizon (VZ), General Motors (GM), Coca-Cola (KO), and Microsoft (MSFT) are among the slew of companies due to release their results this week.

While most of the major sectors are showing only modest moves, substantial weakness has emerged among gold stocks. The NYSE Arca Gold Bugs Index has plunged by 8.5 percent to its lowest intraday level in over twelve years.

The weakness among gold stocks comes amid a sharp drop by the price of the precious metal, with gold for August delivery plummeting $26 to $1,105.90 an ounce.

Natural gas and airline stocks are also seeing early weakness, while some strength is visible among railroad stocks.

Among individual stocks, shares of Vivint Solar (VSLR) have moved sharply higher after the solar equipment maker agreed to be acquired by SunEdison (SUNE) and its unit TerraForm Power (TERP) for about $2.2 billion.

Toymaker Hasbro (HAS) has also shown a strong move to the upside after reporting second quarter earnings that came in above analyst estimates.

On the other hand, shares of Cal-Maine Foods (CALM) have come under pressure after the egg producer reported weaker than expected fourth quarter results.

In overseas trading, stock markets across the Asia-Pacific region turned in a mixed performance on Monday, with the Japanese markets closed for a holiday. Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index edged down by less than a tenth of a percent, while Australia's All Ordinaries Index rose by 0.3 percent.

Meanwhile, the major European markets have all moved to the upside on the day. While the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index is up by 0.1 percent, the French CAC 40 Index is up by 0.3 percent and the German DAX Index is up by 10.5 percent.

In the bond market, treasuries have moved moderately lower after ending the two previous sessions nearly flat. Subsequently, the yield on the benchmark ten-year note, which moves opposite of its price, is up by 2 basis points at 2.369 percent.