Stocks Continue To Turn In A Lackluster Performance - U.S. Commentary

(RTTNews) - After recovering from an early sell-off over the course of the previous session, stocks are turning in a lackluster performance during trading on Friday. The major averages have spent the day bouncing back and forth across the unchanged line.

Currently, the major averages continue to turn in a mixed performance. While the Nasdaq is up 4.63 points or 0.1 percent at 4,400.84, the Dow is down 29.67 points or 0.2 percent at 16,885.40 and the S&P 500 is down 2.34 points or 0.1 percent at 1,962.34.

The choppy trading on Wall Street comes as traders seem reluctant to make any significant moves ahead of the release of a slew of earnings news next week.

Citigroup (C), Goldman Sachs (GS), JP Morgan (JPM), Intel (INTC), Bank of America (BAC), IBM (IBM), Morgan Stanley (MS), and General Electric (GE) are among the big-name companies due to report their quarterly results next week.

Meanwhile, traders have largely shrugged off the release of quarterly results from Wells Fargo (WFC), the first major U.S. bank to report its quarterly results this earnings season.

Before the start of trading, Wells Fargo reported second quarter earnings that rose to $1.01 per share from $0.98 per share in the year-ago quarter, matching analyst estimates.

The financial giant also said total revenue for the quarter dipped to $21.07 billion from $21.38 billion but exceeded estimates for $20.82 billion.

Among individual stocks, shares of Rent-A-Center (RCII) have moved sharply lower on the day after the chain of rent-to-own stores forecast second quarter earnings below analyst estimates.

Apparel retailer Gap (GPS) has also moved to the downside after reporting an unexpected drop in comparable-store sales in June.

On the other hand, cigarette maker Lorillard (LO) is turning in a strong performance after confirming that it is in talks regarding a potential acquisition by Reynolds American (RAI).

Sector News

Most of the major sectors are showing only modest moves in mid-day trading, contributing to the lack of direction being shown by the broader markets.

Gold stocks are seeing some strength on the day, however, with the NYSE Arca Gold Bugs Index up by 1.2 percent. The index is regaining some ground after tumbling by 1.8 percent on Thursday.

The rebound by gold stocks comes despite a modest decrease by the price of the precious metal, as gold for August delivery is slipping $2.40 to $1,336.80 an ounce.

Meanwhile, natural gas stocks have moved to the downside on the day, dragging the NYSE Arca Natural Gas Index down by 1.1 percent. With the loss, the index has fallen to its lowest intraday level in almost a month.

Oil service stocks are also seeing notable weakness in mid-day trading, moving lower along with the price of crude oil.

Other Markets

In overseas trading, stock markets across the Asia-Pacific region turned in another mixed performance during trading on Friday. Japan's Nikkei 225 Index dipped by 0.3 percent, while China's Shanghai Composite Index rose by 0.4 percent.

Meanwhile, the major European markets all moved to the upside on the day. While the French CAC 40 Index advanced by 0.4 percent, the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index and the German DAX Index both inched up by 0.1 percent.

In the bond market, treasuries have moved modestly higher, extending a recent upward trend. As a result, the yield on the benchmark ten-year note, which moves opposite of its price, is down by 1.6 basis points at 2.516 percent.