Major Averages Remain Stuck On Opposite Sides Of Unchanged Line

(RTTNews) - After moving in opposite directions in early trading, stocks continue to turn in a mixed performance in mid-day trading on Friday. While the Dow and the S&P 500 remain in negative territory, the Nasdaq has reached a new record intraday high.

The advance by the Nasdaq is partly due to a sharp jump by shares of Google (GOOG), which are surging up by 14.6 percent.

Google is rallying after the tech giant reported second quarter earnings that came in above analyst estimates after the close of trading on Thursday.

General Electric (GE) and Honeywell (HON) have also moved to the upside after reporting better than expected second quarter earnings before the start of today's trading.

Meanwhile, notable losses by Intel (INTC), Boeing (BA) and Chevron (CVX) are contributing to the pullback by the Dow.

While many of the major sectors are showing only modest moves, substantial weakness has emerged among gold stocks. The NYSE Arca Gold Bugs Index has tumbled by 4.1 percent to its lowest intraday level in twelve years.

The sell-off by gold stocks comes amid a decrease by the price of the precious metal, with gold for August delivery sliding $13.40 to $1,143.90 an ounce.

Similarly, oil service stocks are moving lower along with the price of crude oil. With crude for August delivery falling $0.52 to $50.39 a barrel, the Philadelphia Oil Service Index is down by 2.1 percent.

Natural gas, steel, and chemical stocks have also come under pressure on the day, while strength is visible among internet and railroad stocks.

The major averages have moved roughly sideways in recent trading, stuck on opposite sides of the unchanged line. The Nasdaq is up 30.48 points or 0.6 percent at 5,193.66, while the Dow is down 72.35 points or 0.4 percent at 18,047.90 and the S&P 500 is down 1.82 points or 0.1 percent at 2,122.47.