U.S. Stocks Showing A Lack Of Direction As S&P 500 Flirts With 5,000

(RTTNews) - Following the strong upward move seen over the course of the previous session, stocks are turning in a relatively lackluster performance during trading on Thursday. The major averages have spent much of the day bouncing back and forth across the unchanged line.

Currently, the major averages are turning in a mixed performance. While the Dow is down 68.22 points or 0.2 percent at 38,609.14, the S&P 500 is up 0.38 points or less than a tenth of a percent at 4,995.44 and the Nasdaq is up 52.06 points or 0.3 percent at 15,808.71.

The choppy trading on Wall Street comes as traders express some uncertainty about whether the markets can sustain their recent upward trend.

The advance seen during Wednesday's session lifted the Dow and S&P 500 to new record closing highs, while the Nasdaq reached its best closing level in two years.

The S&P 500 reached an intraday peak just shy of the 5,000 level, which could prove to be a psychological resistance for the broad market index.

Despite the lackluster performance by the broader markets, shares of Arm Holdings (ARM) have skyrocketed by 59.1 percent after the chipmaker reported better than expected fiscal third quarter results and provided upbeat guidance for the current quarter.

Entertainment giant Disney (DIS) has also soared by 10.5 percent after reporting better than expected fiscal first quarter earnings, boosting its dividend and providing an upbeat forecast.

On the other hand, shares of PayPal (PYPL) have plunged by 10.6 percent after the online payments company reported fourth quarter results that exceeded estimates but provided a disappointing forecast.

Traders have largely shrugged off a Labor Department report showing first-time claims for U.S. unemployment benefits fell by more than expected in the week ended February 3rd.

The report said initial jobless claims slipped to 218,000, a decrease of 9,000 from the previous week's upwardly revised level of 227,000.

Economists had expected jobless claims to edge down to 220,000 from the 224,000 originally reported for the previous week.

Sector News

Reflecting the lackluster performance by the broader markets, most of the major sectors are showing only modest moves on the day.

Semiconductor stocks are seeing significant strength on the heels of Arm's strong results, however, with the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index surging by 2.0 percent.

A sharp increase by the price of crude oil is also contributing to significant strength among oil service stocks, as reflected by the 1.2 percent gain being posted by the Philadelphia Oil Service Index.

Computer hardware stocks are also seeing some strength on the day, while utilities and pharmaceutical stocks have moved to the downside.

Other Markets

In overseas trading, stock markets across the Asia-Pacific region turned in another mixed performance during trading on Thursday. Japan's Nikkei 225 Index surged by 2.1 percent, while Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index slumped by 1.3 percent.

The major European markets have also turned mixed on the day. While the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index is down by 0.2 percent, the German DAX Index is up by 0.4 percent and the French CAC 40 Index is up by 0.8 percent.

In the bond market, treasuries are seeing further downside after ending the previous session modestly lower. Subsequently, the yield on the benchmark ten-year note, which moves opposite of its price, is up by 4.6 basis points at 4.156 percent.