Stocks Showing A Lack Of Direction Amid Slew Of Data - U.S. Commentary

(RTTNews) - After moving sharply lower over the course of the previous session, stocks are showing a lack of direction in early trading on Friday. The major averages have been bouncing back and forth across the unchanged line, unable to sustain any significant moves.

Currently, the major averages are turning in a mixed performance. While the Dow is down 11.18 points or 0.1 percent at 16,552.12, the Nasdaq is up 0.46 points or less than a tenth of a percent at 4,370.23 and the S&P 500 is up 2.49 points or 0.1 percent at 1,933.16.

The choppy trading on Wall Street comes as traders are digesting a slew of U.S. economic data, including the Labor Department's closely watched monthly jobs report.

The Labor Department said employment rose by 209,000 jobs in July after jumping by an upwardly revised 298,000 in June, while economists had expected an increase of 233,000 jobs.

While the pace of job growth slowed compared to the previous month, analysts noted that the increase would have been called strong a few months ago.

Despite the continued job growth, the Labor Department also said the unemployment rate unexpectedly edged up to 6.2 percent in July from a nearly six-year low of 6.1 percent in June.

With the report also showing only a modest uptick in average hourly earnings, the data has eased some of the recent concerns about the outlook for interest rates.

A separate report from the Institute for Supply Management showed that activity in the manufacturing sector expanded at a notably faster rate in the month of July.

The ISM said its purchasing managers index climbed to 57.1 in July from 55.3 in June, with a reading above 50 indicating growth in the manufacturing sector. Economists had been expecting the index to edge up to a reading of 56.0.

Traders are also reacting to reports on personal income and spending, consumer sentiment, and construction spending.

Most of the major sectors are showing only modest moves in early trading, contributing to the lackluster performance by the broader markets.

While some strength is visible among gold and utilities stocks, networking and computer hardware stocks are extending yesterday's sell-off.

In overseas trading, stock markets across the Asia-Pacific region came under pressure following the overnight sell-off on Wall Street. Japan's Nikkei 225 Index. Japan's Nikki 225 Index fell by 0.6 percent, while Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index dropped by 0.9 percent.

The major European markets have also moved to the downside on the day. While the German DAX Index has tumbled by 1.6 percent, the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index and the French CAC 40 Index are down by 0.6 percent and 0.5 percent, respectively.

In the bond market, treasuries have moved modestly higher in reaction to the avalanche of economic data. Subsequently, the yield on the benchmark ten-year note, which moves opposite of its price, is down by 2.2 basis points at 2.534 percent.