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

(RTTNews) - After moving notably higher over the course of the previous session, stocks are turning in a relatively lackluster performance in morning trading on Wednesday. The major averages are showing only modest moves on the day.

Currently, the major averages continue to linger near the unchanged line. While the Dow is up 2.78 points or less than 0.1 percent at 18,231.08, the Nasdaq is down 4.03 points or 0.1 percent at 5,301.69 and the S&P 500 is down 1.43 points or 0.1 percent at 2,158.50.

The choppy trading on Wall Street comes as traders seem reluctant to make significant moves ahead of remarks by several Federal Reserve officials.

Traders are keeping an eye on Fed Chair Janet Yellen's testimony before the House Financial Services Committee, although the hearing is expected to focus on the Fed's supervision of big banks.

Yellen did not discuss the outlook for the economy or monetary policy in her prepared remarks before the committee and is currently facing questions from lawmakers.

Chicago Fed President Charles Evans is also due to speak this afternoon, while Cleveland's Loretta Mester and Kansas City's Esther George, who both voted to raise interest rates at the last meeting, are scheduled to deliver remarks after the close of trading.

Traders are likely to keep an eye on the remarks for any hints regarding the likelihood of a rate hike before the end of the year.

On the U.S. economic front, the Commerce Department released a report before the start of trading showing that durable goods orders came in flat in the month of August.

The Commerce Department said durable goods orders were virtually unchanged in August after jumping by a revised 3.6 percent in July.

Economists had expected orders to pull back by about 1.4 percent compared to the 4.4 percent spike that had been reported for the previous month.

Excluding orders for transportation equipment, durable goods orders fell by 0.4 percent in August after surging up by 1.1 percent in July. The drop matched economist estimates.

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

While biotechnology stocks have come under pressure over the course of the session, significant strength is visible among steel stocks.

In overseas trading, stock markets across the Asia-Pacific region turned in another mixed performance during trading on Wednesday. Japan's Nikkei 225 Index tumbled by 1.3 percent, while Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index edged up by 0.2 percent.

Meanwhile, the major European markets have all moved back to the upside on the day. While the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index has advanced by 0.7 percent, the German DAX Index and the French CAC 40 Index are up by 0.9 percent and 1 percent, respectively.

In the bond market, treasuries have shown a lack of direction over the course of 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 1.558 percent.