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Stocks Remain Nearly Flat In Mid-Day Trading - US Commentary(Alliance News Via Acquire Media NewsEdge) WASHINGTON (Alliance News) - With traders taking a break following recent strength stocks continue to turn in a lackluster performance in mid-day trading on Tuesday. The markets are largely holding on to the bulk of their recent gains, however, with the Dow and the S&P 500 holding near record highs. Currently, the major averages are just below the unchanged line, posting losses of less than a tenth of a % each. The Dow is down 5.80 points at 17,607.94, the Nasdaq is down 1.95 points at 4,649.66 and the S&P 500 is down 0.77 points at 2,037.49. The choppy trading on Wall Street comes as many traders are staying on the sidelines due to the Veterans Day holiday, which is keeping the bond markets and most banks closed for the day. A lack of major catalysts is also contributing to the lackluster performance, as traders seem reluctant to continue pushing stocks higher. Traders have largely shrugged off a report from the National Federation of Independent Business showing that its small business optimism index crept back up to 96.1 in October from 95.3 in September. The NFIB said the slight improvement by the index was led by a modest increase in the net % of owners who plan to increase capital spending and more who expect higher sales in the next 3 months. "Those were the two bright spots in an otherwise mixed reading," said Bill Dunkelberg, Chief Economist for the NFIB. Among individual stocks, shares of Rackspace Hosting (RAX) are moving sharply higher after the web hosting company reported better than expected third quarter results. The company also announced a USD500 million stock buyback program. Telecom giant Vodafone (VOD) is also turning in a strong performance after raising its earnings forecast for the full year. On the other hand, shares of Juniper Networks (JNPR) are moving to the downside after the networking equipment maker announced the resignation of CEO Shaygan Kheradpir. Sector News Most of the major sectors continue to show only modest moves in mid-day trading, contributing to the lack of direction being shown by the broader markets. Gold stocks are seeing considerable strength, however, with the NYSE Arca Gold Bugs Index surging up by 4.1%. The index is rebounding after ending Monday's trading down by 6.1%. The rebound by gold stocks comes amid a modest increase by the price of the precious metal, with gold for December delivery climbing USD3.20 to USD1,163 an ounce. Notable strength has also emerged among biotechnology stocks, as reflected by the 1% gain being posted by the NYSE Arca Biotechnology Index. Regeneron (REGN) is leading the sector higher. On the other hand, steel stocks have come under pressure on the day, dragging the NYSE Arca Steel Index down by 1.4%. With the drop, the index has fallen to its lowest intraday level in over a year. Other Markets In overseas trading, stock markets across the Asia-Pacific region turned in yet another mixed performance during trading on Tuesday. While Japan's Nikkei 225 Index surged up by 2.1%, China's Shanghai Composite Index dipped by 0.2%. Meanwhile, the major European markets all moved to the upside on the day. While the French CAC 40 Index climbed by 0.2%, the U.K's FTSE 100 Index and the German DAX Index both edged up by 0.2%. As mentioned above, however, the US bond markets are closed for the day in honor of the Veterans Day holiday. Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX |