WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - Stocks have shown a lack of direction over the course of the trading session on Friday, with the major averages swinging back and forth across the unchanged line after trending higher over the past several sessions.
Currently, the major averages are turning in a mixed performance. While the Dow is up 41.82 points or 0.1 percent at 38,090.95, the Nasdaq is down 48.05 points or 0.3 percent at 15,462.09 and the S&P 500 is down 4.74 points or 0.1 percent at 4,889.42.
The choppy trading on Wall Street comes as traders are weighing disappointing earnings news from semiconductor giant Intel (INTC) against tamer than expected consumer price inflation data.
Shares of Intel have plunged by 12.1 percent after the company reported better than expected fourth quarter results but provided disappointing first quarter guidance.
Meanwhile, the Commerce Department released a report before the start of trading showing a bigger than expected slowdown in the annual rate of core consumer price growth in the month of December.
The report said the annual rate of growth by core consumer prices, which exclude food and energy prices, slowed to 2.9 percent in December from 3.2 percent in November. Economists had expected core price growth to decelerate to 3.0 percent.
The annual inflation reading, which is said to be preferred by the Federal Reserve, was included in the Commerce Department's monthly report on personal income and spending.
'Today's inflation report gives the Fed a path to cut interest rates,' said Larry Tentarelli, Chief Technical Strategist, Blue Chip Daily Trend Report. 'Based on strong recent GDP data and jobs data, we expect the first rate cut to be in the May-June period.'
He added, 'If jobs and or economic data softens a bit and inflation continues to drop quickly, that could increase the chances of a rate cut in March, but that is not our base case yet.'
Traders may also be reluctant to make significant moves ahead of the Fed's monetary policy announcement next week.
While the Fed is widely expected to leave interest rates unchanged, traders will be looking for clues about the timing of highly anticipated rate cuts.
Sector News
Most of the major sectors are showing only modest moves on the day, contributing to the lackluster performance by the broader markets.
Semiconductor stocks have moved sharply lower amid the steep drop by Intel, however, with the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index plunging by 2.8 percent.
Shares of KLA Corp. (KLAC) have also slumped after the semiconductor equipment maker reported better than expected fiscal second quarter results but provided disappointing fiscal third quarter guidance.
Airline stocks have also moved to the downside on the day, while some strength is visible among telecom and steel stocks.
Other Markets
In overseas trading, stock markets across the Asia-Pacific region turned in a mixed performance on Friday. Japan's Nikkei 225 Index slumped by 1.3 percent, while China's Shanghai Composite Index inched up by 0.1 percent and South Korea's Kospi rose by 0.3 percent.
Meanwhile, the major European markets all moved to the upside on the day. While the French CAC 40 Index surged by 2.3 percent, the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index jumped by 1.4 percent and the German DAX Index climbed by 0.3 percent.
In the bond market, treasuries have moved modestly lower after seeing early volatility. Subsequently, the yield on the benchmark ten-year note, which moves opposite of its price, is up by 1.9 basis points at 4.151 percent.
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