Major Averages Lingering Near The Unchanged Line In Early Trading

(RTTNews) - Stocks are turning in a lackluster performance in early trading on Wednesday after moving sharply higher over the past few sessions. The major averages have been bouncing back and forth across the unchanged line, unable to sustain any significant moves.

The choppy trading on Wall Street comes as traders seem to be taking a breather following the recent upward move, which helped to lift the major averages well off the multi-month lows set last week.

The Nasdaq and the S&P 500 closed higher for four consecutive sessions, although they remain well off their mid-September highs.

Uncertainty about the near-term outlook for the markets is helping to keep traders on the sidelines as they continue to digest the latest batch of earnings news.

Meanwhile, traders have largely shrugged off a report from the Labor Department showing a modest increase in consumer prices in the month of September.

While most of the major sectors are showing only modest moves, notable weakness has emerged among gold stocks. The NYSE Arca Gold Bugs Index has fallen by 1.2 percent, with a drop by the price of gold weighing on the sector.

Railroad stocks are also seeing early weakness, while some strength is visible among computer hardware and utilities stocks.

Currently, the major averages are nearly flat on the day. While the Nasdaq is down 0.90 points or less than a tenth of a percent at 4,418.57, the Dow is up 7.72 points or 0.1 percent at 16,622.53 and the S&P 500 is up 1.93 points or 0.1 percent at 1,943.21.