Stocks Remain Mostly Negative In Afternoon Trading - U.S. Commentary

(RTTNews) - Stocks have moved mostly lower during trading on Tuesday following the strength seen in the previous session. The major averages have moved to the downside after ending Monday's trading at record closing highs.

Currently, the major averages are off their worst levels of the day but stuck in negative territory. The Dow is down 16.37 points or 0.1 percent at 24,775.83, the Nasdaq is down 24.76 points or 0.4 percent at 6,969.99 and the S&P 500 is down 4.29 points or 0.2 percent at 2,685.87.

The pullback by stocks comes as traders are taking profits, cashing in on the strength seen over the past several sessions.

Traders have largely shrugged off a report from the Commerce Department showing an unexpected increase in housing starts in the month of November.

The report said housing starts jumped 3.3 percent to an annual rate of 1.297 million in November from a revised 1.256 million in October. Economists had expected housing starts to drop by 3.7 percent.

Commercial real estate stocks have shown a significant move to the downside on the day, dragging the Morgan Stanley REIT Index down by 1.9 percent. The index ended the previous session at its best closing level in a month.

Utilities, housing and computer hardware stocks have also moved notably lower, while most of the other major sectors are showing only modest moves.

In overseas trading, stock markets across the Asia-Pacific region turned in a mixed performance during trading on Tuesday. Japan's Nikkei 225 Index dipped by 0.2 percent, while Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index advanced by 0.7 percent.

The major European markets also ended the day mixed. While the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index inched up by 0.1 percent, the French CAC 40 Index and the German DAX Index both dropped by 0.7 percent.

In the bond market, treasuries have shown a significant move to the downside ahead of votes on the GOP tax reform bill. Subsequently, the yield on the benchmark ten-year note, which moves opposite of its price, is up by 7.4 basis points at 2.466 percent.