Stocks Close Roughly Flat Following Lackluster Session - U.S. Commentary

(RTTNews) - After showing a substantial move to the upside in the previous session, stocks fluctuated over the course of the trading day on Tuesday before ending the session roughly flat.

The major averages ended the session on opposite sides of the unchanged line. While the S&P 500 edged down 2.75 points or 0.1 percent to 2,050.44, the Dow crept up 6.49 points or less than 0.1 percent to 17,489.50 and the Nasdaq inched up 1.40 points or 0.1 percent to 4,986.02.

The choppy trading on Wall Street came as traders expressed uncertainty about the outlook for the markets following the terrorist attacks in Paris.

Traders were also digesting some key U.S. economic data, including a report from the Labor Department showing an uptick in consumer prices in October.

The Labor Department said its consumer price index climbed by 0.2 percent in October after falling by 0.2 percent in September. The modest increase matched economist estimates.

Excluding food and energy prices, the core consumer price index still rose by 0.2 percent, matching the increase seen in the previous month as well as expectations.

A separate report from the Federal Reserve showed that industrial production unexpectedly decreased in the month of October, reflecting steep drops in mining and utilities output

The report said industrial production dipped by 0.2 percent in October, matching the decrease seen in September. The drop surprised economists, who had expected production to inch up by 0.1 percent.

Additionally, the National Association of Home Builders released a report showing that homebuilder confidence has unexpectedly deteriorated in November.

The report said the NAHB/Wells Fargo Housing Market Index fell to 62 in November from an upwardly revised 65 in October.

Economists had expected the index to come in unchanged compared to the 64 originally reported for the previous month.

Sector News

While many of the major sectors ended the day showing only modest moves, substantial weakness was visible among gold stocks. Reflecting the weakness in the gold sector, the NYSE Arca Gold Bugs Index plunged by 5.5 percent.

The weakness among gold stocks came amid a decrease by the price of the precious metal, as gold for December delivery slid $15 to $1,068.70 an ounce.

Energy stocks also came under pressure amid a steep drop by the price of crude oil, with crude for December delivery falling $1.07 to $40.67 a barrel.

Significant weakness was also visible among utilities stocks, while biotechnology and retail stocks showed strong moves to the upside.

Other Markets

In overseas trading, stock markets across the Asia-Pacific region moved mostly higher during trading on Tuesday. Japan's Nikkei 225 Index and Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index both surged up by 1.2 percent, while Australia's All Ordinaries Index jumped by 2.2 percent.

The major European markets also saw significant strength on the day. While the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index shot up by 1.9 percent, the German DAX Index and the French CAC 40 Index soared by 2.4 percent and 2.8 percent, respectively.

In the bond market, treasuries turned higher over the course of the session after seeing early weakness. As a result, the yield on the benchmark ten-year note, which moves opposite of its price, edged down by 1.2 basis points to 2.261 percent.

Looking Ahead

Trading on Wednesday may be impacted by the Commerce Department's report on housing starts in October as well as the minutes of the latest Federal Reserve meeting.

On the earnings front, retail giants Lowe's (LOW), Staples (SPLS), and Target (TGT) are due to report their quarterly results before the start of trading on Wednesday.