Stocks Turning In Another Lackluster Performance - U.S. Commentary

(RTTNews) - Stocks are turning in another lackluster performance in early trading on Tuesday after ending the previous session roughly flat. The major averages are showing only modest moves on the day, lingering near the unchanged line.

Currently, the major averages are turning in a mixed performance. While the Nasdaq is down 0.75 points or less than 0.1 percent at 3,993.82, the Dow is up 21.77 points or 0.1 percent at 16,094.31 and the S&P 500 is up 0.67 points or less than 0.1 percent at 1,803.15.

The choppy trading on Wall Street comes amid uncertainty about the near-term outlook for the markets after recent strength lifted the Dow and the S&P 500 to record highs above key psychological levels. The tech-heavy Nasdaq has also risen to its best levels since 2000.

Some traders have also likely decided to remain away from their desks, getting a head start on the Thanksgiving Day holiday on Thursday.

Nonetheless, notable strength has emerged among housing stocks, as reflected by the 1.5 percent gain being posted by the Philadelphia Housing Sector Index. The gain has lifted the index to its best intraday level in almost a month.

The strength among housing stocks comes on the heels of the release of a report showing that building permits jumped to a five-year high in October.

The Commerce Department said building permits climbed 6.2 percent to an annual rate of 1.034 million in October from the September rate of 974,000. Economists had expected building permits to come in at an annual rate of 930,000.

A separate report from Standard & Poor's showed that home prices in major U.S. metropolitan areas rose by slightly more than anticipated in the month of September

Meanwhile, gold stocks have come under pressure in early trading, dragging the NYSE Arca Gold Bugs Index down by 1.5 percent. The losses by gold stocks come even though the price of the precious metal is roughly flat.

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

In overseas trading, stock markets across the Asia-Pacific region moved mostly lower during trading on Tuesday. Japan's Nikkei 225 Index fell by 0.7 percent, while China's Shanghai Composite Index edged down by 0.1 percent.

Meanwhile, the major European markets have turned mixed on the day. While the German DAX Index has ticked up by 0.1 percent, the French CAC 40 Index and the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index are down by 0.3 percent and 0.4 percent, respectively.

In the bond market, treasuries have moved to the upside, extending a recent upward move. Subsequently, the yield on the benchmark ten-year note, which moves opposite of its price, is down by 2.5 basis points at 2.716 percent.