U.S. Stocks Turning In Lackluster Performance After Yesterday's Sell-Off

(RTTNews) - Stocks have shown a lack of direction over the course of the trading day on Wednesday, with the major averages bouncing back and forth across the unchanged line following the steep losses posted during Tuesday's session.

Currently, the major averages are little changed. While the Dow is up 47.02 points or 0.1 percent at 40,983.95, the S&P 500 is down 3.73 points or 0.1 percent at 5,525.20 and the Nasdaq is down 24.69 points or 0.1 percent at 17,111.61.

The choppy trading on Wall Street may reflect uncertainty about the near-term outlook for the markets following the substantial volatility seen over the past couple months.

While stocks reached new record highs in mid-July, the markets experienced a significant sell-off in early August amid concerns about the economic outlook.

Stocks have subsequently shown a substantial rebound, with the Dow reaching a new record high, as traders express optimism about the Federal Reserve lowering interest rates later this month.

However, worries about the economy continue to hang over the markets following yesterday's disappointing readings on manufacturing activity.

The Labor Department also released a report this morning showing a bigger than expected decrease by job openings in the U.S. in the month of July.

The Labor Department said job openings edged to 7.67 million in July from a downwardly revised 7.91 million in June.

Economists had expected jobless claims to dip to 8.10 million from the 8.18 million originally reported for the previous month.

Sector News

Reflecting the lackluster performance by the broader markets, most of the major sectors are showing only modest moves on the day.

Telecom stocks have shown a significant move to the upside, however with the NYSE Arca North American Telecom Index jumping by 2.1 percent.

Notable strength is also visible among airline stocks, as reflected by the 1.0 percent gain being posted by the NYSE Arca Airline Index.

Semiconductor stocks are also regaining ground after falling sharply on Tuesday, while computer hardware stocks are seeing further downside, dragging the NYSE Arca Computer Hardware Index down by 1.3 percent.

Other Markets

In overseas trading, stock markets across the Asia-Pacific region moved mostly lower during trading on Wednesday. Japan's Nikkei 225 Index plummeted by 4.2 percent, while Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index slumped by 1.1 percent.

The major European markets have also moved to the downside on the day. While the French CAC 40 Index is down by 0.8 percent, the German DAX Index is down by 0.7 percent and the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index is down by 0.3 percent.

In the bond market, treasuries are extending the notable upward move seen in the previous session. As a result, the yield on the benchmark ten-year note, which moves opposite of its price, is down by 4.7 basis points at 3.797 percent.