Stocks Turning In A Lackluster Performance In Early Trading - U.S. Commentary

(RTTNews) - Stocks are showing a lack of direction in early trading on Friday after ending the previous session sharply higher. The major averages have been bouncing back and forth across the unchanged line, unable to sustain any significant moves.

Currently, the major averages are posting modest gains. The Dow is up 38.02 points or 0.2 percent at 16,715.92, the Nasdaq is up 13.51 points or 0.3 percent at 4,466.31 and the S&P 500 is up 3.85 points or 0.2 percent at 1,954.67.

The choppy trading on Wall Street partly reflects a mixed reaction to the latest batch of earnings news, with big-name companies like Microsoft (MSFT) and Amazon (AMZN) moving in opposite directions after reporting their quarterly results.

Shares of Microsoft have surged up by 1.8 percent after the software giant reported fiscal first quarter results that beat expectations.

On the other hand, shares of Amazon are tumbling by 7.1 after the online retailer reported third quarter results that trailed expectations and issued below consensus revenue guidance for the fourth quarter.

Traders are also digesting news that a patient at a New York City hospital has tested positive for Ebola, the fourth person diagnosed with the virus in the U.S.

The patient, identified as Craig Spencer, is a doctor who recently returned to the country after treating Ebola patients in West Africa.

Meanwhile, the Commerce Department recently released a report showing that U.S. new home sales ticked higher in September but from a significantly downwardly revised level in August.

The report said new home sales inched up 0.2 percent to an annual rate of 467,000 in September from the revised August rate of 466,000.

Economists had been expecting new home sales to drop to a rate of 460,000 from the 504,000 originally reported for the previous month.

While most of the major sectors are showing only modest moves, considerable strength has emerged among steel stocks. Reflecting the strength in the sector, the NYSE Arca Steel Index is climbing by 1.1 percent.

Semiconductor and airline stocks are also moving to the upside, while energy stocks have come under pressure along with the price of crude oil.

In overseas trading, stock markets across the Asia-Pacific region turned in a mixed performance on Friday. Japan's Nikkei 225 Index jumped by 1 percent, while Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index edged down by 0.1 percent.

Meanwhile, the major European markets have all moved to the downside on the day. While the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index has fallen by 0.6 percent, the French CAC 40 Index and the German DAX Index are down by 0.8 percent and 0.9 percent, respectively.

In the bond market, treasuries are regaining some ground after trending lower over the past few sessions. Subsequently, the yield on the benchmark ten-year note, which moves opposite of its price, is down by 3.6 basis points at 2.239 percent.