Major Averages Close Mixed Following Choppy Trading Day - U.S. Commentary

(RTTNews) - Following the sell-off seen in the previous session, stocks showed a lack of direction over the course of the trading day on Wednesday. The major averages spent the day bouncing back and forth across the unchanged line before closing mixed.

The major averages closed on opposite sides of the unchanged line, with the Dow snapping a five-day losing streak. While the Nasdaq edged down 3.61 points or 0.1 percent to 7,003.74, the Dow rose 59.70 points or 0.3 percent to 24,083.83 and the S&P 500 inched up 4.84 points or 0.2 percent to 2,639.40.

The choppy trading on Wall Street reflected uncertainty about the outlook for the markets amid a continued increase in U.S. treasury yields.

The yield on the benchmark ten-year note closed above 3 percent after briefly moving above the key level for the first time since early 2014 in intraday trading on Tuesday.

Concerns rising inflation may lead the Federal Reserve to hike interest rates faster than previously expected have recently pushed yields higher.

Traders may also have been reluctant to make more significant moves amid a lack of major U.S. economic data on the day.

Meanwhile, traders reacted positively to some of the latest earnings news, with aerospace giant Boeing (BA) jumping by 4.2 percent.

Boeing released its first quarter results before the start of trading, reporting better than expected earnings and revenues and raising its full-year guidance.

Shares of Texas Instruments (TXN) also moved sharply higher after chipmaker reported better than expected first quarter results and provided upbeat guidance for the current quarter.

On the other hand, shares of Twitter (TWTR) turned lower over the course of the session even though the social media giant reported first quarter results that exceeded analyst estimates.

Sector News

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

Oil service stocks saw considerable strength, however, with the Philadelphia Oil Service Index climbing by 1.5 percent. The index reached its best closing level in well over two months.

An increase by the price of crude oil contributed to the strength in the oil service sector, as crude for June delivery rose $0.35 to $68.05 a barrel.

Natural gas and transportation stocks also saw notable strength on the day, while weakness was visible among biotechnology and gold stocks.

Other Markets

In overseas trading, stock markets across the Asia-Pacific region moved mostly lower during trading on Wednesday. Japan's Nikkei 225 Index fell by 0.3 percent, while Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index dropped by 1 percent.

The major European markets also moved to the downside on the day. While the German DAX Index slumped by 1 percent, the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index and the French CAC 40 Index both slid by 0.6 percent.

In the bond market, treasuries extended the downward trend seen over the past several sessions. As a result, the yield on the benchmark ten-year note, which moves opposite of its price, advanced by 4.1 basis points to 3.024 percent.

Looking Ahead

Reaction to the latest batch of earnings news is likely to drive trading on Thursday, with a slew of big-name companies due to release their quarterly results.

Facebook (FB), Advanced Micro Devices (AMD), AT&T (T), Ford (F), Qualcomm (QCOM), and Visa (V) are among the companies releasing their quarterly results after the close of today's trading.

Altria (MO), American Airlines (AAL), Bristol-Myers Squibb (BMY), General Motors (GM), Hershey (HSY), PepsiCo (PEP), and UPS (UPS) are also among the companies due to report their results before the start of trading on Thursday.

The earnings news may overshadow U.S. economic reports on weekly jobless claims and durable goods orders in the month of March.