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

(RTTNews) - With traders reluctant to make any significant moves amid an abbreviated trading session, stocks are turning in a lackluster performance in early trading on Tuesday. The major averages are lingering near the unchanged line, although the Dow and the S&P 500 have still managed to set new record highs.

Currently, the major averages are posting modest gains on the day. The Dow is up 28.80 points or 0.2 percent at 16,323.41, the Nasdaq is up 1.80 points or less than a tenth of a percent at 4,150.71 and the S&P 500 is up 2.65 points or 0.1 percent at 1,830.64.

The choppy trading on Wall Street comes as many investors are staying on the sidelines ahead of the early close for the markets at 1 pm ET. The Christmas Day holiday on Wednesday is also keeping traders away from their desks.

Traders are also digesting a mixed batch of economic data, as a pair of reports from the Commerce Department showed a sharp jump in durable goods orders but a decrease in new home sales.

Before the start of trading, the Commerce Department said durable goods orders surged up by 3.5 percent in November following a revised 0.7 percent decrease in October. Economists had expected orders to increase by about 2.0 percent.

Excluding an 8.4 percent jump in orders for transportation equipment, durable goods orders still rose by 1.2 percent in November compared to economist estimates for a 0.7 percent increase.

Meanwhile, a separate report showed that new home sales fell 2.1 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 464,000 in November from the revised October rate of 474,000.

Despite the monthly decrease, new home sales came in above economist estimates of 450,000 due to an upward revision to the October data.

Most of the major sectors are showing only modest moves, contributing to the lack of direction being shown by the broader markets.

Gold stocks are seeing some strength, however, with an increase by the price of the precious metal generating some buying interest.

In overseas trading, stock markets across the Asia-Pacific region moved mostly higher during trading on Tuesday. Japan's Nikkei 225 Index edged up by 0.1 percent following a holiday on Monday, while Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index surged up by 1.1 percent.

The major European markets also saw modest strength amid an abbreviated trading session. The U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index and the French CAC 40 Index inched up by 0.2 percent and 0.1 percent, respectively. The German markets remained closed on the day.

In the bond market, treasuries have moved to the downside, extending the pullback seen in the previous session. Subsequently, the yield on the benchmark ten-year note, which moves opposite of its price, is up by 3.4 basis points at 2.963 percent.