Profit Taking Contributes To Early Weakness On Wall Street - U.S. Commentary

(RTTNews) - Stocks have moved modestly lower in early trading on Monday, giving back ground following the rally seen last Friday. The major averages have all moved to the downside, although selling pressure has been somewhat subdued.

In recent trading, the major averages have climbed well off their worst levels, but they remain in the red. The Dow is down 15.13 points or 0.1 percent at 17,198.18, the Nasdaq is down 3.43 points or 0.1 percent at 4,745.04 and the S&P 500 is down 5.70 points or 0.3 percent at 2,016.49.

The early weakness on Wall Street is partly due to profit taking, with traders cashing in on gains on the heels of a recent uptrend.

The rally seen last Friday helped the major averages to close higher for the fourth straight week, ending the day at their best closing levels in two months.

A steep drop by the price of crude oil is also weighing on the markets, with crude for April delivery tumbling $1.73 to $36.77 a barrel.

The price of crude oil jumped $2.58 or 7.2 percent to $38.50 a barrel in the previous week, reaching its highest closing level in three months.

Nonetheless, overall trading activity has remained somewhat subdued amid a quiet day on the U.S. economic front.

Traders may be looking ahead to the Federal Reserve's monetary policy decision scheduled to be announced Wednesday afternoon.

While the Fed is widely expected to leave interest rates unchanged, traders are likely to pay close attention to the wording of the accompanying statement.

A slew of economic data is also scheduled to be released in the coming days, including reports on retail sales, industrial production, and producer and consumer price inflation.

Reflecting the sharp pullback by the price of crude oil, energy stocks are turning in some of the market's worst performances in early trading.

The NYSE Arca Natural Gas Index is down by 1.3 percent, while the Philadelphia Oil Service Index and the NYSE Arca Oil & Gas Index are both down by 1.2 percent.

Notable weakness is also visible among computer hardware stocks, but most of the other major sectors are showing only modest moves.

In overseas trading, stock markets across the Asia-Pacific region saw considerable strength during trading on Monday. Japan's Nikkei 225 Index shot up by 1.7 percent, while Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index jumped by 1.2 percent.

The major European markets have also moved to the upside on the day. While the German DAX Index has spiked by 1.4 percent, the French CAC 40 Index and the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index are up by 0.4 percent and 0.2 percent, respectively.

In the bond market, treasures are seeing modest strength after trending lower in recent sessions. As a result, the yield on the benchmark ten-year note, which moves opposite of its price, is down by 1.8 basis points at 1.959 percent.