WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - After moving in opposite directions early in the session, the major U.S. stock indexes continue to turn in a mixed performance in afternoon trading on Wednesday.
The tech-heavy Nasdaq is lingering in negative territory and the Dow is hovering positive territory, while the S&P 500 has been bouncing back and forth across the unchanged line.
Currently, the Dow is up 126.74 points or 0.3 percent at 39,132.23 and the S&P 500 is up 0.80 points or less than a tenth of a percent at 5,176.07, but the Nasdaq is down 47.06 points or 0.3 percent at 16,218.58.
The pullback by the Nasdaq partly reflects weakness in the tech sector, with AI darling Nvidia (NVDA) slumping by 1.8 percent.
Overall trading activity remains somewhat subdued, however, as a lack of major U.S. economic keeps some traders on the sidelines ahead of the release of several key reports in the coming days.
On Thursday, the Labor Department is scheduled to release its report on producer price inflation in the month of February, which may shed additional light on the outlook for interest rates.
Producer prices are expected to rise by 0.3 percent in February, matching the increase seen in January, while the annual rate of producer price growth is expected to accelerate to 1.1 percent from 0 .9 percent.
Reports on weekly jobless claims and retail sales are also due to be released on Thursday, with retail sales expected to rebound in February after slumping in January.
On Friday, trading may be impacted by reaction to reports on import and export prices, industrial production and consumer sentiment.
The University of Michigan's preliminary report on consumer sentiment in March may be in focus, as it includes reading on inflation expectations.
Sector News
Most of the major sectors continue to show only modest moves on the day, contributing to the lackluster performance by the broader markets.
Energy stocks are seeing considerable strength, however, with a sharp increase by the price of crude oil contributing to the strength in the sector.
With crude for April delivery surging $1.91 to $79.47 a barrel, the NYSE Arca Oil Index is up by 2.7 percent and the Philadelphia Oil Service Index is up by 1.4 percent.
An increase by the price of gold is also contributing to strength among gold stocks, as reflected by the 2.3 percent jump by the NYSE Arca Gold Bugs Index.
On the other hand, semiconductor stocks have shown a significant move to the downside, dragging the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index down by 2.2 percent.
Other Markets
In overseas trading, stock markets across the Asia-Pacific region ended mixed once again on Wednesday. While China's Shanghai Composite Index fell by 0.4 percent and Japan's Nikkei 225 Index dipped by 0.3 percent, South Korea's Kospi climbed by 0.4 percent.
Meanwhile, European stocks moved mostly higher on the day. The French CAC 40 Index advanced by 0.6 percent and the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index rose by 0.3 percent, although the German DAX Index closed just below the unchanged line.
In the bond market, treasuries are extending the pullback seen over the two previous sessions. As a result, the yield on the benchmark ten-year note, which moves opposite of its price, is up by 3.1 basis points at 4.186 percent.
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