Stocks Remain Stuck In Negative Territory In Mid-Day Trading - U.S. Commentary

(RTTNews) - Stocks have moved mostly lower during trading on Friday after turning higher over the course of the previous session. After snapping a five-session losing streak on Thursday, the major averages have all moved to the downside.

In recent trading, the major averages have moved roughly sideways, stuck in negative territory. The Dow is down 106.03 points or 0.6 percent at 17,627.07, the Nasdaq is down 48.32 points or 1 percent at 4,796.60 and the S&P 500 is down 11.90 points or 0.6 percent at 2,066.09.

The weakness on Wall Street comes amid ongoing concerns about the referendum on whether Britain will remain in the European Union.

Recent polls have shown that most British voters prefer to leave the EU, which is commonly referred to as the Brexit.

Most economists have predicted that Brexit will be negative for the global economy, leading global central banks to inaction at recent meetings.

On the U.S. economic front, the Commerce Department released a report this morning showing a modest drop in new residential construction in the month of May.

The report said housing starts edged down by 0.3 percent to an annual rate of 1.164 million in May from the revised April estimate of 1.167 million.

Economists had expected housing starts to dip to a rate of 1.150 million from the 1.172 million originally reported for the previous month.

Many of the major sectors are showing only modest moves in early trading, although considerable weakness has emerged among semiconductor stocks.

Reflecting the weakness in the semiconductor sector, the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index has fallen by 1.3 percent on the day.

Health care and gold stocks are also seeing notable weakness, while strength is visible among energy and steel stocks.

In overseas trading, stock markets across the Asia-Pacific region moved mostly higher during trading on Friday. Japan's Nikkei 225 Index surged up by 1.2 percent, while Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index advanced by 0.7 percent.

The major European markets also moved to the upside on the day. While the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index jumped by 1.2 percent, the French CAC 40 Index advanced by 1 percent and the German DAX Index climbed by 0.9 percent.

In the bond market, treasuries are giving back ground after moving sharply higher in recent sessions. As a result, the yield on the benchmark ten-year note, which moves opposite of its price, is up by 4.4 basis points at 1.608 percent.