Stocks Move Mostly Lower But Nasdaq Clings To Modest Gain - U.S. Commentary

(RTTNews) - After ending the previous session sharply higher, stocks have moved mostly lower over the course of the trading day on Thursday. The major averages are turning in a mixed performance, however, as the tech-heavy Nasdaq is clinging to a modest gain.

Currently, the Nasdaq remains in positive territory, up 8.07 points or 0.2 percent at 4,990.90. Meanwhile, the Dow is down 111.22 points or 0.6 percent at 17,964.97, and the S&P 500 is down 10.73 points or 0.5 percent at 2,088.77.

Profit taking is contributing to some weakness on Wall Street following yesterday's gains, which came following the release of the Federal Reserve's monetary policy statement.

The Fed statement was interpreted as dovish even though the central bank removed its pledge to remain "patient" regarding normalizing monetary policy.

In her subsequent press conference, Fed Chair Janet Yellen noted that removing the word patient from the statement doesn't mean the central bank is going to be impatient.

Traders also seemed to focus on the fact that the Fed lowered its outlook for interest rates at the end of this year.

The median projection for the mid-point of the fed funds target range at the end of 2015 is now 0.625 percent, down from the 1.125 percent projection made in December.

Traders initially reacted positively to the apparent dovishness of the Fed but now seem to be expressing some renewed uncertainty about the outlook for interest rates.

Peter Boockvar, managing director at the Lindsey Group, said, "I think it's fair to say that the concept of being 'data dependent' has now been officially neutered. It is no longer clear what data the Fed is most dependent on."

"It is also no longer clear at what levels the data needs to be for there to be a policy change. These levels have changed so many times already," he added. "We have 'fly by the seat of your pants' monetary policy."

On the economic front, the Labor Department released a report before the start of trading showing a modest uptick in initial jobless claims in the week ended March 14th.

The report said initial jobless claims inched up to 291,000, an increase of 1,000 from the previous week's revised level of 290,000. Economists had expected jobless claims to rise to 293,000.

Sector News

Steel stocks continue to see substantial weakness in mid-day trading, dragging the NYSE Arca Steel Index down by 3.4 percent. The index is pulling back toward the nearly six-year low set on Monday.

Nucor (NUE), U.S. Steel (X), and Cliffs Natural Resources (CLF) are turning in some of the steel sector's worst performances.

Considerable weakness is also visible among energy stocks, which are moving lower along with the price of crude oil. Crude for April delivery is currently slumping $0.99 to $43.67 a barrel.

Financial stocks have also come under pressure on the day, with the Dow Jones Banks Index and the NYSE Arca Broker/Dealer Index falling by 1.7 percent and 1.3 percent, respectively.

Chemical, telecom, and railroad stocks are also seeing notable weakness, while significant strength has emerged among biotechnology stocks.

Other Markets

In overseas trading, stock markets across the Asia-Pacific region moved mostly higher on Thursday. Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index surged up by 1.4 percent, while Australia's All Ordinaries Index jumped by 1.8 percent. However, Japan's Nikkei 225 Index bucked the uptrend and fell by 0.4 percent.

Meanwhile, the major European markets are turning in a mixed performance on the day. While the U.K.'s FTSE 100 has inched up by 0.1 percent, the French CAC 40 Index is down by 0.2 percent and the German DAX Index is down by 0.4 percent.

In the bond market, treasuries have pulled back near the unchanged line after seeing modest strength earlier in the session. Subsequently, the yield on the benchmark ten-year note, which moves opposite of its price, is up by less than a basis point at 1.955 percent.