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Stocks Turn Mixed As Early Buying Interest Fades - US Commentary(Alliance News Via Acquire Media NewsEdge) WASHINGTON (Alliance News) - After failing to sustain an initial upward move, stocks have shown a lack of direction over the course of the trading day on Friday. The Dow and the S&P 500 reached new record highs in early trading but have given back ground since then. Currently, the major averages are turning in a mixed performance. While the Nasdaq is down 9.39 points or 0.2% at 4,584.03, the Dow is up 30.22 points or 0.2% at 17,296.21 and the S&P 500 is up 0.88 points or less than a tenth of a % at 2,012.24. The initial strength on Wall Street partly reflected a positive reaction to news that Scotland voted 55% to 45% against breaking away from the UK. Traders had previously expressed some concerns about the global economic impact of a Scottish vote in favor of independence. Buying interest waned not long after the start of trading, however, as traders seemed reluctant to continue pushing stocks higher following recent strength. Disappointing quarterly results from Oracle (ORCL) have also weighed on the markets, with the business software giant tumbling by 4.7%. After the close of trading on Thursday, Oracle reported adjusted first quarter earnings that rose year-over-year but came in below economist estimates. The company also revealed that co-founder Larry Ellison is stepping down as CEO. Additionally, the Conference Board released a report showing that its index of leading US economic indicators rose by less than expected in the month of August. The Conference Board said its leading economic index edged up by 0.2% in August following an upwardly revised 1.1% jump in July. Economists had expected the index to climb by 0.4%. Ken Goldstein, an economist at the Conference Board, said, "The leading indicators point to an economy that is continuing to gain traction, but most likely won't repeat its stellar second quarter performance in the second half." Meanwhile, shares of Alibaba (BABA) have spiked higher in their first day of trading on the NYSE, with the Chinese e-commerce giant surging up by 36.6% on heavy volume. Sector News Many of the major sectors are showing only modest moves in mid-day trading, contributing to the lackluster performance by the broader markets. Gold stocks have shown a substantial move to the downside, however, with the NYSE Arca Gold Bugs Index tumbling by 1.7%. The drop extends a recent downtrend by the index, which has fallen to a three-month intraday low. The continued weakness among gold stocks comes amid a decrease by the price of the precious metal, with gold for December delivery sliding USD7.40 to USD1,219.50 an ounce. Significant weakness has also emerged among housing stocks, as reflected by the 1.3% loss being posted by the Philadelphia Housing Sector Index. Standard Pacific (SPF) and MDC Holdings (MDC) are posting notable losses. Steel, computer hardware, and networking stocks are also seeing some weakness on the day, while strength remains visible among utilities stocks. Other Markets In overseas trading, stock markets across the Asia-Pacific region moved mostly higher during trading on Friday. Japan's Nikkei 225 Index surged up 1.6% to a seven-year closing high, while Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index advanced by 0.6%. Meanwhile, the major European markets ended the day mixed. While the French CAC 40 Index edged down by 0.1%, the UK's FTSE 100 Index rose by 0.3% and the German DAX Index closed just above the unchanged line. In the bond market, treasuries have moved back to the upside after pulling back near the unchanged line earlier in the session. Subsequently, the yield on the benchmark ten-year note, which moves opposite of its price, is down by 2.7 basis points at 2.602%. Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX |