Major Averages Turning In Mixed Performance In Early Trading

(RTTNews) - After moving higher at the open, stocks have shown a lack of direction over the course of early trading on Tuesday. The major averages have been bouncing back and forth across the unchanged line, unable to sustain any significant moves.

The choppy trading on Wall Street comes as traders express some uncertainty about the outlook for the markets following the sell-off seen in the previous session.

A lack of major U.S. economic data may also be keeping some traders on the sidelines ahead of the release of some key economic reports in the coming days.

The monthly jobs report due on Friday is likely to be in the spotlight, although traders are also likely to keep an eye on reports on private sector employment, international trade and service sector activity.

The minutes of the latest Federal Reserve meeting are also likely to attract attention, as the central bank raised interest rates for the first time in nearly a decade following the meeting.

While most of the major sectors are showing only modest moves, substantial weakness is visible among oil service stocks. The Philadelphia Oil Service Index is down by 2.1 percent after bucking the downtrend on Monday.

The weakness among oil service stocks comes amid a decrease by the price of crude oil, with crude for February delivery sliding $0.66 to $36.10 a barrel.

Railroad and airline stocks are also seeing some weakness on the day, while strength has emerged among tobacco, commercial real estate, and trucking stocks.

Currently, the major averages are turning in a mixed performance. While the Dow is down 21.37 points or 0.1 percent at 17,127.57, the Nasdaq is up 5.99 points or 0.1 percent at 4,909.07 and the S&P 500 is up 0.85 points or less than a tenth of a percent at 2,013.51.