Choppy Trading Day Leads To Mixed Close On Wall Street - U.S. Commentary

(RTTNews) - Stocks showed a lack of direction throughout the trading day on Monday after recovering from an early move to the downside. The lackluster performance came after the markets showed notable moves to the downside last week.

The major averages bounced back and forth across the unchanged line before ending the day mixed. While the Nasdaq rose 9.84 points or 0.3 percent to 3,669.95, the Dow edged down 5.83 points or less than a tenth of a percent to 15,419.68 and the S&P 500 dipped 1.95 points or 0.1 percent to 1,689.47.

Uncertainty about the outlook for the Federal Reserve's stimulus program contributed to the choppy trading on Wall Street.

While recent comments from Fed officials have suggested that the central bank could begin scaling back its asset purchases as early as its September meeting, the slew of economic data due to be released in the coming days could have a significant impact on the outlook for the program.

Traders are likely to keep a close eye on reports on retail sales, industrial production, housing starts, and producer and consumer prices.

The lackluster performance also came amid a relatively quiet day in terms of corporate news, as the earnings season is winding down.

Nonetheless, Wal-Mart (WMT), Cisco (CSCO), Macy's (M), and Deere (DE) are among the big-name companies scheduled to release their quarterly results this week.

Among individual stocks, shares of Alliance One (AOI) showed a steep drop on the day after the tobacco company reported a first quarter loss that came in wider year-over-year.

Food distributor Sysco (SYY) also came under pressure after reporting fourth quarter results that came in below analyst estimates.

Meanwhile, shares of BlackBerry (BBRY) moved sharply higher after the smartphone maker said its board has formed a special committee to explore strategic alternatives, including a sale of the company.

Sector News

Most of the major sectors ended the day showing only modest moves, contributing to the lackluster performance by the broader markets.

Gold stocks saw substantial strength, however, with the NYSE Arca Gold Bugs Index surging up by 5.5 percent on the day.

The strength among gold stocks came amid a sharp increase by the price of the precious metal, with gold for December delivery jumping $22 to $1,334.20 an ounce.

Computer hardware, trucking, and software stocks also saw some strength, although buying interest has remained subdued.

On the other hand, considerable weakness was visible among biotechnology stocks, as reflected by the 1.1 percent loss posted by the NYSE Arca Biotechnology Index. The drop pulled the index down to its lowest closing level in a month.

Commercial real estate, utilities, and oil stocks also moved to the downside, offsetting the strength seen in the aforementioned sectors.

Other Markets

In overseas trading, stock markets across the Asia-Pacific region moved mostly higher on Monday. Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index and China's Shanghai Composite Index surged up by 2.1 percent and 2.4 percent, respectively. However, Japan's Nikkei 225 Index bucked the uptrend and fell by 0.7 percent.

Meanwhile, the major European markets turned in a mixed performance on the day. While the German DAX Index rose by 0.3 percent, the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index and the French CAC 40 Index both edged down by 0.1 percent.

In the bond market, treasuries turned lower over the course of the session after seeing early strength. As a result, the yield on the benchmark ten-year note, which moves opposite of its price, rose by 2.5 basis points to 2.605 percent.

Looking Ahead

Trading on Tuesday is likely to driven by reaction to the Commerce Department's monthly retail sales report. Economists expect sales to rise by 0.3 percent in July following a 0.4 percent increase in June.

Reports on import and exports price and business inventories may also attract some attention, although they are likely to be overshadowed by the retail sales data.

Meanwhile, traders are also likely to keep an eye on comments by Atlanta Fed President Dennis Lockhart, who is due to deliver remarks to the Kiwanis Club of Atlanta.