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Stocks Regain Ground After Seeing Early Weakness - US Commentary(Alliance News Via Acquire Media NewsEdge) WASHINGTON (Alliance News) - After coming under pressure early in the session, stocks have regained some ground over the course of the trading day on Friday. The major averages have climbed off their lows for the session, although the tech-heavy Nasdaq remains firmly in the red. Currently, the major averages are turning in a mixed performance. While the Dow is up 37.92 points or 0.2% at 16,697.17, the Nasdaq is down 34.51 points or 0.8% at 4,343.83 and the S&P 500 is down 0.42 points or less than a tenth of a % at 1,927.79. The early weakness on Wall Street came on the heels of a global sell-off, with stock markets in Asia and Europe falling sharply on the day. While European growth concerns were cited for the weakness, Peter Boockvar, chief market analyst at the Lindsey Group, suggested that it may actually reflect a loss of confidence in European Central Bank President Mario Draghi's ability to offset the economic slowdown. "European growth concerns have been an issue for years but what has not been an issue until now is a lack of faith in Draghi to offset it," Boockvar said. "'Out of bullets' is a well used cliché but it is gaining traction with respect to all central banks." He added, "Combine this with the end of Federal Reserve QE and market turbulence is what you get after a massive run over the past few years." On the US economic front, the Labor Department released a report before the start of trading showing that another sharp drop in fuel prices contributed to a continued decline in US import prices in the month of September. The Labor Department said its import price index fell by 0.5% in September following a revised 0.6% drop in August. Economists had been expecting import prices to slide by about 0.7%. The report also showed that export prices dipped by 0.2% in September after falling by 0.5% in August. Export prices had been expected to edge down by 0.1%. Sector News Despite the rebound by the broader markets, semiconductor stocks continue to see substantial weakness, resulting in a 5.3% drop by the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index. The index hit a seven-month intraday low earlier in the session but has regained some ground since then. Microchip Technology (MCHP) has helped to lead the semiconductor sector lower, with the chip maker plunging by 11.4% after warning of weaker than previously estimated second quarter sales. Considerable weakness also remains visible among networking stocks, as reflected by the 3.3% loss being posted by the NYSE Arca Networking Index. Juniper Networks (JNPR) is posting a standout loss after providing disappointing third quarter guidance. Railroad stocks have also shown a significant move to the downside on the day, dragging the Dow Jones Railroads Index down by 1.6%. Trinity Industries (TRN) and Canadian Pacific (CP) are turning in two of the sector's worst performances. Telecom, internet, electronic storage and oil service stocks also continue to see notable weakness, although selling pressure has waned from earlier in the session. Other Markets In overseas trading, stock markets across the Asia-Pacific region came under pressure on Friday following the overnight sell-off on Wall Street. Japan's Nikkei 225 Index slumped by 1.2%, while Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index plummeted by 1.9%. The major European markets also showed substantial moves to the downside on the day. While the German DAX Index plunged by 2.4%, the French CAC 40 Index and the UK's FTSE 100 Index tumbled by 1.6% and 1.4%, respectively. In the bond market, treasuries are moving modestly higher, extending a recent upward trend. As a result, the yield on the benchmark ten-year note, which moves opposite of its price, is down by 2 basis points at 2.307%. Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX |