U.S. Stocks Turning In Lackluster Performance Following Recent Volatility

(RTTNews) - Stocks have shown a lack of direction over the course of morning trading on Friday, with the major averages bouncing back and forth across the unchanged line. The choppy trading comes following the extreme volatility seen over the past few sessions.

Currently, the major averages are posting modest losses, although the tech-heavy Nasdaq is down just 4.78 points or less than a tenth of a percent at 13,348.00. The Dow is down 177.95 points or 0.5 percent at 33,982.83 and the S&P 500 is down 7.64 points or 0.2 percent at 4,318.87.

Lingering concerns about higher interest rates continue to weigh on the markets after the Federal Reserve signaled earlier this week that the first rate hike could come as early as March.

With Fed Chair Jerome Powell claiming the central bank has "quite a bit of room" to raise rates before it would harm the economy, traders seem concerned the Fed may be more aggressive than previously expected.

A report from the Commerce Department showing core consumer price growth accelerated to a nearly 40-year high in December may put further pressure on the Fed to raise rates at a faster rate.

The Commerce Department's reading on inflation, which is said to be preferred by the Fed, showed the annual rate of core consumer price growth accelerated to 4.9 percent in December from 4.7 percent in November, reaching the highest level since September 1983.

While stocks are currently mostly lower, the markets have seen substantial volatility in recent sessions and another turnaround could be just moments away.

A notable advance by Apple (AAPL) has helped limit the downside for the Nasdaq, with the tech giant jumping by 3.8 percent after reporting better than expected quarterly results.

Credit card giant Visa (V) has also moved to the upside after reporting fiscal first quarter results that exceeded analyst estimates on the top and bottom lines.

On the other hand, shares of Chevron (CVX) have come under pressure after the energy giant reported fourth quarter earnings that missed analyst estimates.

Fellow Dow component Caterpillar (CAT) has also moved notably lower as supply chain concerns overshadow the construction equipment maker's better than expected quarterly results.

Airline stocks have moved sharply lower over the course of the morning, dragging the NYSE Arca Airline Index down by 4.2 percent.

Significant weakness is also visible among semiconductor stocks, which are extending the sell-off seen in the previous session.

Reflecting the weakness in the sector, the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index is slumping by 2 percent to its lowest intraday level in six months.

Gold, chemical and housing stocks are also seeing notable weakness on the day, moving lower along with most of the other major sectors.

In overseas trading, stock markets across the Asia-Pacific region turned in a mixed performance during trading on Friday. Japan's Nikkei 225 Index spiked by 2.1 percent, while China's Shanghai Composite Index slumped by 1 percent.

Meanwhile, the major European markets have all moved to the downside on the day. While the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index is down by 1.2 percent, the German DAX Index and the French CAC 40 Index are both down by 1.6 percent.

In the bond market, treasuries have climbed back near the unchanged line after seeing initial weakness. As a result, the yield on the benchmark ten-year note, which moves opposite of its price, is up by less than a basis point at 1.807 percent.