Stocks Continue To See Modest Weakness In Mid-Day Trading - U.S. Commentary

(RTTNews) - Selling pressure has remained relatively subdued, but stocks continue to see modest weakness in mid-day trading on Friday. With the losses on the day, the major averages are moving lower for the third consecutive session.

The Dow briefly peeked into positive territory but is currently down 9.75 points or 0.1 percent at 19,810.03. The Nasdaq is down 33.75 points or 0.6 percent at 5,398.34 and the S&P 500 is down 4.32 points or 0.2 percent at 2,244.94.

Profit taking may be contributing to the continued weakness on Wall Street after the tech-heavy Nasdaq reached a record closing high on Tuesday.

Negative sentiment was also generated by a report from MNI Indicators showing a notable slowdown in the pace of growth in Chicago-area business activity in the month of December.

MNI Indicators said its Chicago Business Barometer slid to 54.6 in December after jumping to a nearly two-year high of 57.6 in November.

While a reading above 50 indicates continued growth in Chicago-area business activity, economists had expected the index to show a much more modest drop to 57.0.

Trading activity on the day has been relatively light, however, with some traders already away from their desks ahead of another long weekend.

Sector News

After initially moving to the upside, gold stocks have shown a notable downturn over the course of the trading session. The NYSE Arca Gold Bugs Index has slumped by 2.1 percent after reaching its best intraday level in well over a month.

The pullback by gold stocks comes amid a modest decrease by the price of the precious metal, with gold for February delivery slipping $1.20 to $1,156.90 an ounce.

Steel stocks have also come under pressure on the day, dragging the NYSE Arca Steel Index down by 1.5 percent. With the drop, the index has fallen to a one-month intraday low.

Semiconductor stocks are also seeing notable weakness in mid-day trading, while most of the other major sectors are showing more modest moves.

Other Markets

In overseas trading, stock markets across the Asia-Pacific region turned in yet another mixed performance on Friday. Japan's Nikkei 225 Index edged down by 0.2 percent, while Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index jumped by 1 percent.

Meanwhile, the major European markets all moved to the upside on the day, with some markets in the region closing early. While the French CAC 40 Index climbed by 0.5 percent, the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index and the German DAX Index both rose by 0.3 percent.

In the bond market, treasuries have moved modestly higher, extending the upward move seen over the two previous sessions. Subsequently, the yield on the benchmark ten-year note, which moves opposite of its price, is down by 2 basis points at 2.457 percent.