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

(RTTNews) - After moving notably higher last week, stocks are turning in a lackluster performance in early trading on Monday. The major averages are showing only modest moves, although the Dow and the S&P 500 remain near record highs.

Currently, the major averages are turning in a mixed performance, with the Dow posting a slim gain. The Dow is up 4.49 points or less than a tenth of a percent at 16,482.90, while the Nasdaq is down 6.44 points or 0.2 percent at 4,150.16 and the S&P 500 is down 0.86 points or 0.1 percent at 1,840.54.

The choppy trading comes as many traders remain on the sidelines following the Christmas Day holiday last Wednesday and the upcoming New Year's Day holiday.

While window dressing sometimes contributes to upward momentum for the markets in the final days of the year, investors may be reluctant to continue buying stocks following the recent strength.

On the economic front, the National Association of Realtors recently released a report showing a much smaller than expected increase in pending home sales in the month of November.

NAR said its pending home sales index inched up 0.2 percent to 101.7 in November from a downwardly revised 101.5 in October. Economists had been expecting the index to jump by about 1.5 percent.

A pending home sale is one in which a contract was signed but not yet closed. Normally, it takes four to six weeks to close a contracted sale.

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

Among individual stocks, shares of Crocs (CROX) are moving sharply higher after the footwear maker said it is receiving a $200 million investment from Blackstone (BX). Crocs also said its president and CEO intends to retire.

Egg producer Cal-Maine Foods (CALM) has also moved to the upside after reporting second quarter earnings that rose sharply year-over-year and came in above analyst estimates.

On the other hand, shares of Cooper Tire (CTB) have come under pressure after the tire company terminated its proposed $2.2 billion sale to India's Apollo Tyres.

In overseas trading, stock markets across the Asia-Pacific region moved mostly higher during trading on Monday. Japan's Nikkei 225 Index advanced by 0.7 percent, while Australia's All Ordinaries Index rose by 0.6 percent.

Meanwhile, the major European markets have turned mixed on the day. While the French CAC 40 Index has edged up by 0.1 percent, the German DAX Index and the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index are both down by 0.4 percent.

In the bond market, treasuries are regaining some ground after coming under pressure last week. As a result, the yield on the benchmark ten-year note, which moves opposite of its price, is down by 2.1 basis points at 2.985 percent.