Major Averages Lingering Near The Unchanged Line In Early Trading

(RTTNews) - After moving sharply lower over the course of the previous session, stocks are showing a lack of direction in early trading on Friday. The major averages have been bouncing back and forth across the unchanged line, unable to sustain any significant moves.

The choppy trading on Wall Street comes as traders are digesting a slew of U.S. economic data, including the Labor Department's closely watched monthly jobs report.

The Labor Department said employment rose by 209,000 jobs in July compared to economic estimates for an increase of 233,000 jobs, while the unemployment rate unexpectedly edged up to 6.2 percent.

A separate report from the Institute for Supply Management showed that activity in the manufacturing sector expanded at a notably faster rate in the month of July.

Traders are also reacting to reports on personal income and spending, consumer sentiment, and construction spending.

Most of the major sectors are showing only modest moves in early trading, contributing to the lackluster performance by the broader markets.

While some strength is visible among gold and utilities stocks, networking and computer hardware stocks are extending yesterday's sell-off.

Currently, the major averages are turning in a mixed performance. While the Dow is down 11.18 points or 0.1 percent at 16,552.12, the Nasdaq is up 0.46 points or less than a tenth of a percent at 4,370.23 and the S&P 500 is up 2.49 points or 0.1 percent at 1,933.16.