Stocks Remain Firmly Negative In Mid-Day Trading - U.S. Commentary

(RTTNews) - After moving modestly lower early in the session, stocks have seen some further downside over the course of the trading session on Wednesday. With the drop on the day, the major averages are pulling back further off the record highs set on Monday.

Currently, the major averages are lingering near their lows for the session. The Dow is down 77.95 points or 0.4 percent at 18,474.07, the Nasdaq is down 28.34 points or 0.5 percent at 5,198.77 and the S&P 500 is down 8.81 points or 0.4 percent at 2,169.34.

Profit taking has contributed to the weakness on Wall Street, as traders continue to cash in on the recent strength in the markets.

Negative sentiment has also been generated in reaction to quarterly results from retail giants Target (TGT) and Lowe's (LOW).

Target reported better than expected second quarter earnings but lowered its full-year guidance due to a "difficult retail environment."

Home improvement retailer Lowe's is also under pressure after reporting second quarter results that came in below analyst estimates.

Overall trading activity is somewhat subdued, however, with a lack of major U.S. economic data keeping some traders on the sidelines.

Later in the day, trading may be impacted by reaction to the minutes of the Federal Reserve's last monetary policy meeting in July.

The minutes could shed some light on the outlook for interest rates ahead of the Fed's next meeting in September.

Most economists currently expect the Fed to leave rates unchanged next month due to the release of a mixed batch of economic data.

Sector News

Gold stocks have shown a significant move to the downside on the day, dragging the NYSE Arca Gold Bugs Index down by 3.5 percent.

The weakness in the gold sector comes amid a decrease by the price of the precious metal, with gold for December delivery sliding $6.10 to $1,350.80 an ounce.

Considerable weakness is also visible among electronic storage stocks, as reflected by the 1.7 percent drop by the NYSE Arca Disk Drive Index. Violin Memory (VMEM) and Seagate Technology (STX) are posting notable losses.

Steel, networking, and housing stocks have also come under pressure, moving lower along with most of the other major sectors.

Other Markets

In overseas trading, stock markets across the Asia-Pacific region turned in a mixed performance during trading on Wednesday. Japan's Nikkei 225 Index advanced by 0.9 percent, while Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index dipped by 0.5 percent.

Meanwhile, the major European markets all moved to the downside on the day. While the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index fell by 0.5 percent, the French CAC 40 Index slid by 1 percent and the German DAX Index slumped by 1.3 percent.

In the bond market, treasuries have pulled back near the unchanged line ahead of the release of the Fed minutes. Subsequently, the yield on the benchmark ten-year note, which moves opposite of its price, is unchanged at 1.576 percent.