Major Averages Close Mixed Following Lackluster Session - U.S. Commentary

(RTTNews) - Following the mixed performance seen last week, stocks showed a lack of direction over the course of the trading session on Monday. The major averages spent the day bouncing back and forth across the unchanged line.

The major averages ended the day mixed. While the Nasdaq climbed 23.05 or 0.4 percent to a new record closing high of 6,410.81, the Dow fell 66.90 points or 0.3 percent to 21,513.17 and the S&P 500 edged down 2.63 points or 0.1 percent to 2,469.91.

The choppy trading on Wall Street came as traders seemed reluctant to make any significant moves ahead of the Federal Reserve's monetary policy announcement on Wednesday.

While the Fed is widely expected to leave interest rates unchanged, traders will pay close attention to the accompanying statement.

On the economic front, the National Association of Realtors released a report showing a bigger than expected drop in existing home sales in the month of June.

NAR said existing home sales slumped by 1.8 percent to an annual rate of 5.52 million in June from 5.62 million in May. Economists had expected existing home sales to drop by 1.0 percent.

Reflecting the lackluster performance by the broader markets, most of the major sectors are showing only modest moves on the day.

Gold stocks showed a significant move to the downside, however, with the NYSE Arca Gold Bugs Index slumping by 2.4 percent.

The weakness in the gold sector came amid a modest decrease by the price of the precious metal, as gold for August delivery dipped $0.60 to $1,254.30 an ounce.

Tobacco and airline stocks also saw considerable weakness, while significant strength was visible among biotechnology stocks.

Other Markets

In overseas trading, stock markets across the Asia-Pacific region turned in a mixed performance during trading on Monday. Japan's Nikkei 225 Index fell by 0.6 percent, while Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index rose by 0.5 percent.

The major European markets have also turned mixed on the day. While the French CAC 40 Index edged up by 0.2 percent, the German DAX Index fell by 0.3 percent and the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index tumbled by 1 percent.

In the bond market, treasuries saw modest weakness after trending higher in recent sessions. As a result, the yield on the benchmark ten-year note, which moves opposite of its price, rose by 2.2 basis points to 2.254 percent.

Looking Ahead

Trading activity may remain somewhat subdued on Tuesday ahead of the Fed announcement, although the latest batch of earnings news is likely to attract attention.

Google parent Alphabet (GGOG) is among the companies releasing their quarterly results after the close of today's trading.

3M (MMM). Caterpillar (CAT), DuPont (DD), and McDonald's (MCD) are among the companies due to report their results before the start of trading on Tuesday.

The Conference Board is also scheduled to release its report on consumer confidence in the month of July at 10 am ET. The consumer confidence index is expected to dip to 117.0.