Stocks Turn Mixed After Seeing Early Strength - U.S. Commentary

(RTTNews) - After moving mostly higher earlier in the session, stocks are turning in a mixed performance in mid-day trading on Monday. While the Dow and the S&P 500 are holding on to gains, the tech-heavy Nasdaq has slid into negative territory.

Currently, the major averages remain on opposite side of the unchanged line. The Nasdaq is down 3.62 points or 0.1 percent at 4,923.75, while the Dow is up 101.84 points or 0.6 percent at 17,958.62 and the S&P 500 is up 3.89 points or 0.2 percent at 2,075.15.

The choppy trading on Wall Street comes as many traders seem reluctant to make significant moves ahead of next week's Federal Reserve meeting.

After last Friday's much better than expected jobs report, the upcoming Fed meeting is likely to remain the main topic of conversation on Wall Street.

The Fed is not expected to raise interest rates at the meeting, but its accompanying statement may signal that a rate hike is on the horizon.

A lack of major U.S. economic data is also keeping traders on the sidelines, although key reports on retail sales and wholesale price inflation are due to be released later in the week.

The triple-digit gain being posted by the Dow comes as the vast majority of the components of the blue chip index have moved to the upside on the day.

Chevron (CVX) and United Technologies (UTX) are posting standout gains, advancing by 1.8 percent and 1.7 percent, respectively.

Shares of RTI International Metals (RTI) have also moved sharply higher on the day after the titanium supplier agreed to be acquired by Alcoa (AA) for $1.5 billion in stock.

Auto giant General Motors (GM) is also posting a strong gain after announcing plans to repurchase $5 billion worth of stock.

On the other hand, shares of Blackberry (BBRY) have moved notably lower after Goldman Sachs downgraded its rating on the smartphone maker to Sell from Neutral.

Sector News

Most of the major sectors are showing only modest moves on the day, contributing to the relatively lackluster performance being turned in by the markets.

Gold stocks are seeing substantial weakness, however, with the NYSE Arca Gold Bugs Index tumbling by 3.3 percent. With the drop, the index has fallen to its lowest intraday level in over two months.

The weakness among gold stocks comes despite an increase by the price of the precious metal, as gold for April delivery is climbing $2.60 to $1,166.90 an ounce.

Biotechnology and natural gas stocks have also moved notably lower on the day, while strength is visible among oil and telecom stocks.

Other Markets

In overseas trading, stock markets across the Asia-Pacific region moved mostly lower during trading on Monday. Japan's Nikkei 225 Index slumped by 1 percent, while Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index edged down by 0.2 percent.

Meanwhile, the major European markets turned in a mixed performance on the day. While the German DAX Index rose by 0.3 percent, the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index and the French CAC 40 Index both fell by 0.5 percent.

In the bond market, treasuries are seeing modest strength following the steep drop that was seen last Friday. As a result, the yield on the benchmark ten-year note, which moves opposite of its price, is down by 2.5 basis points at 2.215 percent.