Stocks Showing A Lack Of Direction In Early Trading - U.S. Commentary

(RTTNews) - Following the strong upward move seen last week, stocks are turning in a relatively lackluster performance in early trading on Tuesday. The major averages have thus far shown only modest moves on the day.

Currently, the major averages are turning in a mixed performance. While the Dow is down 30.55 points or 0.2 percent at 17,842.67, the Nasdaq is up 10.15 points or 0.2 percent at 4,943.65 and the S&P 500 is up 0.84 points or less than a tenth of a percent at 2,099.90.

The choppy trading on Wall Street comes as traders seem somewhat reluctant to make any significant moves ahead of the release of the closely watched monthly jobs report on Friday.

The Labor Department report, which is expected to show an increase of 158,000 jobs in May, could have a significant impact on the outlook for interest rates.

Traders largely seemed to have shrugged off the slew of data released this morning, including a Commerce Department report showing a jump in personal spending.

The Commerce Department said personal spending surged up by 1.0 percent in April after coming in unchanged in March. Economists had expected spending to climb by 0.7 percent.

The report also said personal income rose by 0.4 percent in April, matching the increase seen in the previous month as well as economist estimates.

Meanwhile, a separate report from the Conference Board showed an unexpected drop in consumer confidence in the month of May.

The Conference Board said its consumer confidence index dropped to 92.6 in May from 94.7 in April. The index had been expected to climb to 97.0.

MNI Indicators also released a report showing an unexpected contraction in Chicago-area business activity in May.

Gold stocks have shown a substantial move to the upside on the day, driving the NYSE Arca Gold Bugs Index up by 2.4 percent. The index is rebounding after ending last Friday's trading at its lowest closing level in over a month.

The strength among gold stocks comes even though the price of the precious metal is nearly unchanged, with gold for August delivery currently up just $0.10 at $1,216.80 an ounce.

Steel, electronic storage and natural gas stocks are also seeing considerable strength, while most of the other major sectors are showing only modest moves.

In overseas trading, stock markets across the Asia-Pacific region turned in a mixed performance during trading on Tuesday. Japan's Nikkei 225 Index surged up by 1 percent, but Australia's All Ordinaries Index dropped by 0.5 percent.

Meanwhile, the major European markets are seeing modest weakness on the day. While the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index has edged down by 0.1 percent, the French CAC 40 Index and the German DAX Index are both down by 0.2 percent.

In the bond market, treasuries are seeing further downside following the notable drop seen last Friday. As a result, the yield on the benchmark ten-year note, which moves opposite of its price, is up by 2.8 basis points at 1.879 percent.