U.S. Stocks Turn Lower After Seeing Initial Strength

(RTTNews) - After an initial move to the upside, stocks have moved mostly lower over the course of the trading session on Tuesday. The major averages have pulled back well off their early highs and into negative territory.

Currently, the major averages are just off their lows of the session. The Dow is down 177.54 points or 0.5 percent at 32,555.41, the Nasdaq is down 45.26 points or 0.4 percent at 10,942.89 and the S&P 500 is down 17.65 points or 0.5 percent at 3,854.33.

The downturn on Wall Street comes as traders look ahead to the Federal Reserve's monetary policy announcement on Wednesday.

The Fed is widely expected to raise interest rates by another 75 basis points, but traders have recently expressed optimism the central bank will signal plans to slow the pace of rate hikes at upcoming meetings.

The optimism was partly offset by a report from the Labor Department showing a jump in U.S. job openings in the month of September.

A separate report released by the Institute for Supply Management showed a slight increase in U.S. manufacturing activity in the month of October.

The ISM said its manufacturing PMI edged down to 50.2 in October from 50.9 in September, but a reading above 50 still indicates growth in the sector. Economists had expected the index to dip to 50.0.

"The U.S. manufacturing sector continues to expand, but at the lowest rate since the coronavirus pandemic recovery began," said Timothy R. Fiore, Chair of the ISM Manufacturing Business Survey Committee.

He added, "With panelists reporting softening new order rates over the previous five months, the October index reading reflects companies' preparing for potential future lower demand."

Transportation stocks have come under pressure over the course of the session, dragging the Dow Jones Transportation Average down by 1.7 percent.

Significant weakness has also emerged among retail stocks, as reflected by the 1.5 percent drop by the Dow Jones U.S. Retail Index,

Pharmaceutical and housing stocks have also moved to the downside on the day, while strength remains visible among gold, steel and tobacco stocks.

In overseas trading, stock markets across the Asia-Pacific region moved mostly higher during trading on Tuesday. Japan's Nikkei 225 Index rose by 0.3 percent, while China's Shanghai Composite Index surged by 2.6 percent.

The major European markets have also moved to the upside on the day. While the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index is up by 1.2 percent, the French CAC 40 Index is up by 0.8 percent and the German DAX Index is up by 0.5 percent.

In the bond market, treasuries have pulled back near the unchanged line after seeing early strength. As a result, the yield on the benchmark ten-year note, which moves opposite of its price, is down by less than a basis point at 4.075 percent.