24.05.2017 18:00:10
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Stocks Clinging To Modest Gains Ahead Of Fed Minutes - U.S. Commentary
(RTTNews) - Stocks continue to see modest strength in mid-day trading on Wednesday, although buying interest has remained somewhat subdued. With the gains on the day, the major averages are moving higher for the fifth consecutive session.
Currently, the major averages are just above the unchanged line. The Dow is up 20.90 points or 0.1 percent at 20,958.81, the Nasdaq is up 6.61 points or 0.1 percent at 6,145.32 and the S&P 500 is up 1.24 points or 0.1 percent at 2,399.66.
The markets continue to benefit from the upward momentum seen in the days following the sell-off seen last Wednesday, which many traders felt was overdone.
Trading activity is relatively light, however, as traders are looking ahead to the release of the minutes of the latest Federal Reserve meeting this afternoon.
The minutes of the meeting held earlier this month may shed some additional light on the outlook for interest rates ahead of the next meeting in mid-June.
The Fed is widely expected to raise interest rates next month, with CME Group's FedWatch tool indicating an 83.1 percent chance of a quarter point rate hike.
Meanwhile, traders have largely shrugged off a report from the National Association of Realtors showing a bigger than expected pullback in existing home sales in the month of April.
NAR said existing home sales fell by 2.3 percent to an annual rate of 5.57 million in April after jumping by 4.2 percent to a ten-year high of 5.70 million in March. Economists had expected sales to drop to a rate of 5.65 million.
Among individual stocks, shares of The Container Store (TCS) have spiked higher after the storage products retailer reported better than expected fiscal fourth quarter results.
Business and financial software maker Intuit (INTU) is also seeing notable strength after reporting fiscal third quarter results that exceeded analyst estimates on both the top and bottom lines.
Meanwhile, shares of Lowe's (LOW) have come under pressure after the home improvement retailer reported first quarter results that came in below expectations.
Sector News
Despite the modest strength being by shown the broader markets, significant weakness has emerged among steel stocks. The NYSE Arca Steel Index is sliding by 1.5 percent after surging up by 2.1 percent on Tuesday.
Cliffs Natural Resources (CLF) and Olympic Steel (ZEUS) are turning in two of the steel sector's worst performances in mid-day trading.
Gold stocks have also shown a notable move to the downside, dragging the NYSE Arca Gold Bugs Index down by 1.3 percent. The weakness in the sector comes as gold for June delivery is sliding $5.20 to $1,250.30 an ounce.
On the other hand, electronic storage, chemical, and commercial real estate stocks are seeing some strength on the day.
Other Markets
In overseas trading, stock markets across the Asia-Pacific region moved mostly higher during trading on Wednesday. Japan's Nikkei 225 Index advanced by 0.7 percent, while Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index inched up by 0.1 percent.
Meanwhile, the major European markets turned in another mixed performance on the day. While the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index rose by 0.4 percent, the French CAC 40 Index and the German DAX Index both edged down by 0.1 percent.
In the bond market, treasuries are roughly flat ahead of the release of the Fed minutes this afternoon. 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 2.290 percent.
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