Stocks Fluctuating Following Yesterday's Sell-Off - U.S. Commentary

(RTTNews) - Stocks have fluctuated over the course of early trading on Tuesday following the sell-off that was seen in the previous session. The major averages have been moving back and forth but have largely maintained a positive bias.

Currently, the major averages are posting moderate gains. The Dow is up 71.76 points or 0.4 percent at 17,573.41, the Nasdaq is up 5.93 points or 0.1 percent at 4,658.51 and the S&P 500 is up 8.60 points or 0.4 percent at 2,029.18.

The choppy trading on Wall Street comes on the heels of the substantial weakness seen on Monday, which saw the Dow tumble by more than 300 points.

While some traders have used the pullback to pick up stocks at somewhat reduced levels, a continued decrease by the price of crude oil is weighing on the markets.

A recent report from the Institute for Supply Management showing a notable slowdown in the pace of service sector growth in December has also limited the upside.

The ISM said its non-manufacturing index dropped to 56.2 in December from 59.3 in November. While a reading above 50 indicates continued growth in the service sector, economists had expected the index to show a more modest drop to 58.0.

With the bigger than expected decrease, the non-manufacturing index fell to its lowest level since hitting 56.0 last June.

Nonetheless, gold stocks are turning in a strong performance in early trading, driving the NYSE Arca Gold Bugs Index up by 3.8 percent. The strength in the sector comes as gold for February delivery is climbing $7.80 to $1,211.80 an ounce.

Utilities, steel and tobacco stocks are also seeing early strength, while most of the other major sectors are showing more modest moves.

In overseas trading, stock markets across the Asia-Pacific region moved mostly lower during trading on Tuesday. Japan's Nikkei 225 Index plunged by 3 percent, while Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index slumped by 1 percent.

Meanwhile, the major European markets have turned higher over the course of the session. While the German DAX Index has surged up by 1.2 percent, the French CAC 40 Index is up by 0.6 percent and the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index is up by 0.3 percent.

In the bond market, treasuries are moving notably higher, extending a recent upward trend. As a result, the yield on the benchmark ten-year note, which moves opposite of its price, is down by 6.3 basis points at 1.976 percent.