Nasdaq Moves Notably Higher But Dow And S&P 500 Nearly Flat

(RTTNews) - With traders reluctant to make any significant moves following last week's volatility, stocks are showing a lack of direction in morning trading on Monday. While the tech-heavy Nasdaq has managed to climb firmly into positive territory, the Dow and the S&P 500 are lingering near the unchanged line.

The choppy trading on Wall Street comes as traders express some uncertainty about the outlook for the markets after the Dow and the S&P 500 reached record highs last Tuesday before pulling back sharply.

A lack of major U.S. economic data is also keeping traders on the sideline following the slew of reports that were released last week.

Despite the lackluster performance by the broader markets, networking stocks have shown a strong move to the upside on the day. The NYSE Arca Networking Index has risen by 2 percent, reaching its best intraday level in almost a month.

Significant strength has also emerged among biotechnology stocks, as reflected by the 1.6 percent gain being posted by the NYSE Arca Biotechnology Index. InterMune (ITMN) has helped to lead the sector higher, jumping 12.4 percent following some positive analyst comments.

Airline, internet, and semiconductor stocks are also seeing notable strength, while utilities stocks have come under pressure.

Currently, the major averages are turning in a mixed performance. The Dow is down 14.67 points or 0.1 percent at 16,476.64, while the Nasdaq is up 23.08 points or 0.6 percent at 4,113.67 and the S&P 500 is up 2.09 points or 0.1 percent at 1,879.95.