Stocks Stuck In Negative Territory In Mid-Day Trading - U.S. Commentary

(RTTNews) - After moving to the downside early in the session, stocks continue to see moderate weakness in mid-day trading on Monday. With the drop on the day, the major averages are partly offsetting the strong gains posted last week.

Currently, the major averages are off their lows of the session but stuck in negative territory. The Dow is down 67.32 points or 0.4 percent at 19,084.82, the Nasdaq is down 18.08 points or 0.3 percent at 5,380.84 and the S&P 500 is down 8.95 points or 0.4 percent at 2,204.40.

Profit taking has contributed to the weakness on Wall Street on the heels of the upward trend seen in reaction to President-elect Donald Trump's surprise victory earlier this month.

Traders are looking to cash in on some of the recent gains, which once again lifted the major averages to new record closing highs last Friday.

Trepidation ahead of a key OPEC meeting later this week is also weighing on the markets amid uncertainty about whether the members of the cartel will finalize an agreement on reducing oil production.

Recent optimism about the outcome of the meeting was partly offset by news that Saudi Arabia pulled out of a meeting with non-OPEC oil producing countries scheduled for today.

Nonetheless, trading activity has remained somewhat subdued ahead of the OPEC meeting on Wednesday as well as the release of the closely watched monthly jobs report on Friday.

Reports on consumer confidence, personal income and spending, pending home sales, and manufacturing activity are also likely to attract attention later this week along with the Federal Reserve's Beige Book.

Sector News

Biotechnology stocks are turning in some of the market's worst performances in mid-day trading, with the NYSE Arca Biotechnology Index slumping by 2.1 percent.

Ophthotech (OPHT), Ocular Therapeutix (OCUL) and NewLink Genetics (NLNK) are posting steep losses on the day.

Considerable weakness is also visible among housing stocks, as reflected by the 1.9 percent drop by the Philadelphia Housing Sector Index. The index is pulling back off its best closing level in well over two months.

Banking, railroad, and oil service stocks are also seeing notable weakness, helping to keep the major averages in negative territory.

On the other hand, gold stocks have moved sharply higher on the day, driving the NYSE Arca Gold Bugs Index up by 3.3 percent. The strength in the sector comes as gold for December delivery is climbing $11.80 to $1,190.20 an ounce.

Utilities stocks are also turning in a strong performance, resulting in a 1.5 percent advance by the Dow Jones Utilities Average.

Other Markets

In overseas trading, stock markets across the Asia-Pacific region turned in a mixed performance during trading on Monday. Japan's Nikkei 225 Index edged down by 0.1 percent, while Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index climbed by 0.5 percent.

Meanwhile, the major European markets all moved to the downside on the day. While the German DAX Index slumped by 1.1 percent, the French CAC 40 Index slid by 0.9 percent and the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index fell by 0.6 percent.

In the bond market, treasuries are regaining some ground following recent weakness. Subsequently, the yield on the benchmark ten-year note, which moves opposite of its price, is down by 5.4 basis points at 2.318 percent.