U.S. Stocks Regain Ground But Continue To See Modest Weakness

(RTTNews) - After coming under pressure early in the session, stocks have regained ground over the course of the trading day on Tuesday. The major averages have climbed well off their lows of the session but are currently still posting modest losses.

The Nasdaq is down 17.43 points or 0.1 percent at 16,236.52 and the S&P 500 is down 14.50 points or 0.3 percent at 5,187.89. The Dow is down 136.90 points or 0.4 percent at 38,755.90 after falling by more than 300 points in early trading.

The modest weakness that remains visible on Wall Street comes as traders look ahead to the release of key inflation data in the coming days.

The Labor Department is scheduled to release its reports on consumer and producer inflation in the month of March on Wednesday and Thursday, respectively.

Economists currently expect consumer prices to rise by 0.3 percent in March following a 0.4 percent increase in February.

Core consumer prices, which exclude food and energy prices, are also expected to climb by 0.3 percent in March after rising by 0.4 percent in February.

The annual rate of consumer price growth is expected to accelerate to 3.4 percent in March from 3.2 percent in February, while the annual rate of core consumer price growth is expected to slow to 3.7 percent for 3.8 percent.

Producer prices are expected to rise by 0.3 percent in March after climbing by 0.6 percent in February, while the annual rate of producer growth is expected to jump to 2.3 percent from 1.6 percent.

The inflation data could have a significant impact on the outlook for interest rates, as Federal Reserve officials have repeatedly said they need greater confidence inflation is slowing before cutting rates.

Wednesday will also see the release of the minutes of the Fed's latest monetary policy meeting, which could also shed additional light on officials' thinking on rates.

"The central bank wants to see sustained evidence of inflation coming down and that doesn't appear to be on the menu," said Dan Coatsworth, investment analyst at AJ Bell.

"The signs are clear for investors to see, but many have been choosing to ignore them," he added. "The Fed putting it into black and white could be a difficult pill for investors to swallow, so brace yourself for turbulence on the market this week."

Sector News

Despite the weakness being shown by the broader markets, gold stocks have shown a significant move to the upside on the day.

Reflecting the strength in the sector, the NYSE Arca Gold Bugs Index is up by 1.5 percent after reaching an eleven-month intraday high earlier in the session.

The strength among gold stocks comes amid an increase by the price of the precious metal, with gold for June delivery climbing $11.40 to $2,362.40 an ounce.

Networking and biotechnology stocks are also seeing notable strength, while weakness is visible among pharmaceutical and computer hardware stocks.

Other Markets

In overseas trading, stock markets across the Asia-Pacific region turned in a mixed performance during trading on Tuesday. Japan's Nikkei 225 Index jumped by 1.1 percent, while South Korea's Kospi fell by 0.5 percent.

Meanwhile, the major European markets all moved to the downside on the day. While the German DAX Index tumbled by 1.3 percent, the French CAC 40 Index slumped by 0.9 percent and the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index edged down by 0.1 percent.

In the bond market, treasuries are regaining ground after moving notably lower over the two previous sessions. Subsequently, the yield on the benchmark ten-year note, which moves opposite of its price, is down by 5.6 basis points at 4.368 percent.