Stocks Move Modestly Lower Following Recent Gains - U.S. Commentary

(RTTNews) - Stocks have moved modestly lower in early trading on Friday, giving back some ground following the upward move seen over the past few sessions. The major averages have dipped into negative territory, although selling pressure has remained subdued.

Currently, the major averages remain stuck in the red. The Dow is down 28.66 points or 0.2 percent at 18,087.18, the Nasdaq is down 11.84 points or 0.2 percent at 5,121.11 and the S&P 500 is down 3.00 points or 0.1 percent at 2,118.24.

The early weakness on Wall Street may be partly due to profit taking following the recent gains, which lifted the tech-heavy Nasdaq to new record highs on Thursday.

Concerns about the situation in Greece may also be weighing on the markets as the debt-laden country remains at an impasse with its international creditors.

A meeting of European finance ministers on Thursday did not make any significant progress, and eurozone leaders are set to hold an emergency summit on Monday to discuss the issue again.

Greece has indicated that it will be unable to make a 1.5 billion euro payment to the International Monetary Fund at the end of the month without further aid, leading to a default.

Capital Economics said, "The odds of Greece defaulting on its debt, and possibly exiting the euro-zone too, seem to be growing by the day."

Nonetheless, overall trading activity has remained somewhat subdued as traders take a step back following the recent upward move.

A lack of major U.S. economic data is also keeping some traders on the sidelines ahead of the release of key reports on durable goods orders, new and existing home sales, and personal income and spending next week.

After bucking the uptrend seen in the previous session, oil service stocks have shown another notable move to the downside. The Philadelphia Oil Service Index is down by 1.1 percent, falling to its lowest intraday level in over two months.

The weakness among oil service stocks comes amid a decrease by the price of crude oil, with crude for July delivery sliding $0.86 to $59.59 a barrel.

Software and electronic storage stocks are also seeing some early weakness, while strength is visible among airline and housing stocks.

In overseas trading, stock markets across the Asia-Pacific region moved mostly higher during trading on Friday. Japan's Nikkei 225 Index advanced by 0.9 percent, while Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index rose by 0.3 percent.

Meanwhile, the major European markets have turned mixed on the day. While the German DAX Index has fallen by 0.5 percent, the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index and the French CAC 40 Index are up by 0.2 percent and 0.3 percent, respectively.

In the bond market, treasuries are moving notably higher, more than offsetting the pullback seen on Thursday. Subsequently, the yield on the benchmark ten-year note, which moves opposite of its price, is down by 7.9 basis points at 2.272 percent.