Stocks Move Back To The Downside In Morning Trading - U.S. Commentary

(RTTNews) - Stocks have moved mostly lower in morning trading on Thursday, giving back some ground after ending the previous session sharply higher. The major averages have all moved to the downside, although selling pressure has remained somewhat subdued.

Currently, the major averages are stuck in negative territory. The Dow is down 107.16 points or 0.7 percent at 16,177.54, the Nasdaq is down 28.42 points or 0.6 percent at 4,591.74 and the S&P 500 is down 6.84 points or 0.4 percent at 1,913.19.

The weakness that has emerged on Wall Street comes as traders are cashing in on yesterday's gains amid uncertainty ahead of the release of tomorrow's closely watched monthly jobs report.

The Labor Department report is expected to show an increase of about 203,000 jobs in September following the addition of 173,000 jobs in August.

The jobs data could have a significant impact on expectations regarding whether the Federal Reserve will raise interest rates later this month.

Before the start of trading, the Labor Department released a report showing that initial jobless claims rose by more than expected in the week ended September 26th.

The report said initial jobless claims climbed to 277,000, an increase of 10,000 from the previous week's unrevised level of 267,000. Economists had expected jobless claims to edge up to 271,000.

The Institute for Supply Management also released a separate report showing that its reading on activity in the manufacturing sector fell to a two-year low in September.

The ISM said its purchasing managers index dropped to 50.2 in September from 51.1 in August, although a reading above 50 indicates growth in the sector. Economists had expected the index to dip to 50.5.

With the bigger than expected decrease, the manufacturing index fell to its lowest level since hitting 50.1 in May of 2013.

Meanwhile, the Commerce Department released a report showing that construction spending rose slightly more than expected in August amid a jump in spending on residential construction.

Semiconductor stocks have shown a notable move to the downside on the day, dragging the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index down by 2.2 percent. The index is partly offsetting the 3.8 percent gain posted on Wednesday.

Computer hardware, utilities, and gold stocks are also seeing notable weakness, while significant strength has emerged among railroad stocks.

In overseas trading, stock markets across the Asia-Pacific region moved mostly higher during trading on Thursday. Japan's Nikkei 225 Index surged up by 1.9 percent, while Australia's All Ordinaries Index jumped by 1.7 percent. However, the Chinese and Hong Kong Markets were closed.

Meanwhile, the major European markets have turned mixed on the day. While the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index is up by 0.4 percent, the French CAC 40 Index is down by 0.5 percent and the German DAX Index is down by 1.6 percent.

In the bond market, treasuries are seeing modest strength after ending the previous session slightly lower. Subsequently, the yield on the benchmark ten-year note, which moves opposite of its price, is down by 2.5 basis points at 2.035 percent.