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

(RTTNews) - Stocks have fluctuated over the course of early trading on Monday after showing a substantial move to the upside last week. The major averages have had difficulty sustaining any significant moves as traders seem to be taking a breather.

Currently, the major averages are turning in a mixed performance. While the Nasdaq is up 13.54 points or 0.3 percent at 4,644.28, the Dow is down 32.69 points or 0.2 percent at 17,357.83 and the S&P 500 is down 1.15 points or 0.1 percent at 2,016.90.

The choppy trading on Wall Street comes as some traders are staying on the sidelines ahead of tomorrow's midterm elections. Republicans are expected to increase their majority in the House and potentially retake control of the Senate.

Traders may also be looking ahead to the release of some key economic data later in the week, including the closely watched monthly jobs report.

Meanwhile, the Institute for Supply Management recently released a report showing the U.S. manufacturing growth unexpectedly grew at a faster pace in the month of October.

The ISM said its index of manufacturing activity climbed to 59.0 in October from 56.6 in September, with a reading above 50 indicating growth in the sector. The increase came as a surprise to economists, who had expected the index to dip to 56.0.

With the unexpected increase, the manufacturing index matched the reading reported for August, which is the highest reading for the index since March of 2011.

The U.S. data is at odds with disappointing readings on manufacturing activity in China and Europe, leading to uncertainty about the outlook for the global economy.

Most of the major sectors are showing only modest moves in early trading, although considerable weakness is visible among steel stocks. The NYSE Arca Steel Index is down by 1.5 percent amid concerns about Chinese demand.

Railroad and oil service stocks are also seeing early weakness, while strength is visible among networking, internet, and airline stocks.

In overseas trading, stock markets across the Asia-Pacific region turned in a mixed performance during trading on Monday. Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index fell by 0.3 percent, while China's Shanghai Composite Index rose by 0.4 percent. The Japanese markets were closed for a holiday.

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

In the bond market, treasuries have moved lower on the heels of the upbeat U.S. manufacturing data. As a result, the yield on the benchmark ten-year note, which moves opposite of its price, is up by 2.4 basis points at 2.359 percent.