Major Averages Posting Modest Gains In Mid-Day Trading

(RTTNews) - With traders taking a breather following the recent upward move by the markets, stocks are turning in a lackluster performance during trading on Wednesday. After moving lower at the open, the major averages have moved back to the upside, but buying interest remains subdued.

The choppy trading on Wall Street comes as traders seem reluctant to make any significant moves ahead of the release of the minutes of the Federal Reserve's latest monetary policy meeting this afternoon.

Traders are likely to closely analyze the minutes for clues as to how soon the Fed will begin to consider raising interest rates.

A majority of the major sector indices have moved to the upside on the day, although most continue to show only modest gains.

While notable strength has emerged among telecom, biotechnology, and airline stocks, buying interest has remained relatively subdued.

On the other hand, tobacco stocks continue to see some weakness on the day, giving back ground after trending higher in recent sessions.

Currently, the major averages are posting modest gains. The Dow is up 31.15 points or 0.2 percent at 16,950.74, the Nasdaq is up 1.76 points or less than a tenth of a percent at 4,529.28 and the S&P 500 is up 2.22 points or 0.1 percent at 1,983.82.