U.S. Stocks Remain Little Changed In Afternoon Trading

(RTTNews) - Stocks showed a lack of direction early in the session and continue to turn in a lackluster performance in afternoon trading on Tuesday. The major averages have spent the day bouncing back and forth across the unchanged line.

Currently, the major averages are turning in a mixed performance. While the Dow is up 64.34 points or 0.2 percent at 38,444.46, the S&P 500 is down 0.30 points or less than a tenth of a percent at 4,942.51 and the Nasdaq is down 46.78 points or 0.3 percent at 15,550.89.

The choppy trading on Wall Street comes as some traders may be reluctant to make significant moves amid uncertainty about the near-term outlook for the markets the following recent volatility.

Stocks fell sharply following the Federal Reserve's monetary policy announcement last Wednesday but rebounded to record highs over the following two sessions only to pullback sharply once again in early trading on Monday.

While the major averages climbed well off yesterday's early lows, fading optimism the Fed will lower interest rates in March continues to hang over the markets.

Fed Chair Jerome Powell has said the central bank is unlikely to cut rates in March and the chances of a rate cut next month have fallen to just 19.5 percent, according to CME Group's FedWatch Tool

A lack of major U.S. economic data may also be keeping some traders on the sidelines following several key events last week.

Among individual stocks, shares of Palantir Technologies (PLTR) have skyrocketed by 27.6 percent after the data analytics provider reported better than expected fourth quarter revenues amid strong demand for its artificial intelligence offerings.

Audio streaming service provider Spotify (SPOT) has also jumped by 4.4 percent after reporting stronger than expected fourth quarter subscriber growth and providing upbeat guidance.

On the other hand, shares of Rambus (RMBS) have tumbled by 19.8 percent after the chipmaker reported a year-over-year decline in fourth quarter revenue.

Sector News

While most of the major sectors are showing only modest moves on the day, airline stocks have shown a substantial move back to the upside.

Reflecting the strength in the sector, the NYSE Arca Airline Index has soared by 4.8 percent after plunging by 2.9 percent on Monday.

Considerable strength also remains visible among oil service stocks, as reflected by the 2.1 percent jump by the Philadelphia Oil Service Index. The strength in the sector comes amid a modest increase by the price of crude oil.

Biotechnology, commercial real estate and steel stocks have also moved notably higher, while semiconductor stocks have shown a significant move to the downside.

Other Markets

In overseas trading, stock markets across the Asia-Pacific region turned in a mixed performance on Tuesday. Japan's Nikkei 225 Index fell by 0.5 percent, while China's Shanghai Composite Index and Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index spiked by 3.2 percent and 4.0 percent, respectively.

Meanwhile, the major European markets all moved to the upside on the day. While the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index advanced by 0.9 percent, the German DAX Index and the French CAC 40 Index climbed by 0.8 percent and 0.7 percent, respectively.

In the bond market, treasuries are regaining ground after moving sharply lower over the two previous sessions. Subsequently, the yield on the benchmark ten-year note, which moves opposite of its price, is down by 7.7 basis points at 4.087 percent.