Stocks Showing A Lack Of Direction In Early Trading - U.S. Commentary

(RTTNews) - Stocks have shown a lack of direction in early trading on Friday after moving within striking distance of new record highs in the previous session. The major averages have been bouncing back and forth across the unchanged line.

Currently, the major averages are posting modest losses on the day. The Dow is down 33.86 points or 0.2 percent at 18,869.96, the Nasdaq is down 13.86 points or 0.3 percent at 5,320.11 and the S&P 500 is down 4.37 points or 0.2 percent at 2,182.75.

The lackluster performance on Wall Street comes as traders seem reluctant to continue making significant moves following the upward trend seen over the last several sessions.

A quiet day on the U.S. economic front may also be keeping some traders on the sidelines following the slew of data that was released on Thursday.

The Conference Board released a report showing a slight increase by its index of leading economic indicators, although the data does not typically impact the markets.

The report said the leading economic index crept up by 0.1 percent in October after edging up by 0.2 percent in September. The uptick by the index matched economist estimates.

"Although its six-month growth rate has moderated, the index still suggests that the economy will continue expanding into early 2017," said Ataman Ozyildirim, Director of Business Cycles and Growth Research at the Conference Board.

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

Gold stocks are seeing considerable weakness, however, with the NYSE Arca Gold Bugs Index slumping by 2.2 percent. The weakness in the sector comes as gold for December delivery is sliding $7.50 to $1,209.40 an ounce.

Steel and pharmaceutical stocks have also shown notable moves to the downside, while some strength is visible among brokerage and electronic storage stocks.

Among individual stocks, shares of Abercrombie & Fitch (ANF) have come under pressure after the apparel retailer reported third quarter results that came in below analyst estimates.

Gap (GPS) is also seeing early weakness after reporting lower third quarter earnings and sales and forecasting full-year earnings below analyst estimates.

On the other hand, shares of Marvell Technology (MRVL) are moving sharply higher after the chip maker reported better than expected third quarter results and announced a $1 billion stock buyback.

In overseas trading, stock markets across the Asia-Pacific region moved mostly higher during trading on Friday. Japan's Nikkei 225 Index advanced by 0.6 percent, while Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index rose by 0.4 percent.

Meanwhile, the major European markets have moved to the downside on the day. While the German DAX Index has edged down by 0.1 percent, the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index is down by 0.4 percent and the French CAC 40 Index is down by 0.6 percent.

In the bond market, treasuries are seeing modest weakness, extending a recent downward trend. As a result, the yield on the benchmark ten-year note, which moves opposite of its price, is up by 2.3 basis points at 2.299 percent.