U.S. Stocks Turning In Another Lackluster Performance In Morning Trading

(RTTNews) - After ending the previous session mixed, stocks continue to turn in a lackluster performance in morning trading on Wednesday. While the Dow and the S&P 500 have shown modest moves to the upside, the Nasdaq has turned lower over the course of the morning.

Currently, the major averages remain on opposite sides of the unchanged line. The Nasdaq is down 25.32 points or 0.2 percent at 15,756.41, but the Dow is up 91.03 points or 0.3 percent at 36,489.24 and the S&P 500 is up 6.22 points or 0.1 percent at 4,792.57.

Traders may be reluctant to continue making significant moves following recent strength in the markets, which has lifted the S&P 500 to new record highs.

The Dow has also climbed back within striking distance of its record highs, as stocks recover from the sell-off seen in reaction to initial reports about the Omicron variant of the coronavirus.

While the Omicron variant has contributed to a surge in new coronavirus cases around the world, traders seem optimistic that the milder symptoms associated with the new strain will not lead to a significant economic slowdown.

Traders often engage in so-called "window dressing" going into the end of the year, although activity may still be somewhat subdued ahead of the holiday.

Even though the U.S. markets will not be closed for the New Year's holiday, traders may still look to get a head start on the festivities.

On the U.S. economic front, a report released by the National Association of Realtors showed an unexpected pullback in pending home sales in the month of November.

NAR said its pending home sales index slid 2.2 percent to 122.4 in November after spiking 7.5 percent to 125.2 in October. The decrease surprised economists, who had expected pending home sales to rise by 0.5 percent.

A pending home sale is one in which a contract was signed but not yet closed. Normally, it takes four to six weeks to close a contracted sale.

Most of the major sectors are showing only modest moves on the day, contributing to the lackluster performance by the broader markets.

Airline stocks have shown a significant move to the downside, however, with the NYSE Arca Airline Index falling by 1.8 percent.

Notable weakness has also emerged among oil service stocks, as reflected by the 1.1 percent drop by the Philadelphia Oil Service Index.

The weakness in the oil service sectors comes as the price of crude oil for February delivery is edging down $0.16 to $75.82 a barrel.

On the other hand, computer hardware stocks have shown a strong move to the upside, driving the NYSE Arca Computer Hardware Index up by 1.4 percent.

In overseas trading, stock markets across the Asia-Pacific region turned in a mixed performance during trading on Wednesday. Japan's Nikkei 225 Index slid by 0.6 percent, while Australia's S&P/ASX 200 Index jumped by 1.2 percent.

The major European markets have also turned mixed on the day. While the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index has advanced by 0.7 percent, the French CAC 40 Index is down by 0.4 percent and the German DAX Index is down by 0.6 percent.

In the bond market, treasuries have moved to the downside after ending the previous session roughly flat. As a result, the yield on the benchmark ten-year note, which moves opposite of its price, is up by 3.8 basis points at 1.519 percent.