WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - Stocks showed a lack of direction early in the session on Tuesday and continue to turn in a lackluster performance in afternoon trading. The major averages have spent the day bouncing back and forth across the unchanged ling after ending the previous session mixed.
Currently, the major averages are posting modest gains. The Dow is up 21.62 points or 0.1 percent at 39,828.39, the Nasdaq is up 9.33 points or 0.1 percent at 16,804.21 and the S&P 500 is up 5.86 points or 0.1 percent at 5,313.99.
The choppy trading on Wall Street comes as traders take a step back to assess the recent strength in the markets, which has seen the major averages climb to new record highs.
Renewed confidence the Federal Reserve will lower interest rates in the coming months contributed to the advance, but recent comments from Fed officials have once again created some uncertainty.
While the likelihood rates will be lower by September remains high, the chances have fallen to 78.3 percent from close to 90 percent last week, according to CME Group's FedWatch Tool.
Another quiet day on the U.S. economic front may also be keeping some traders on the sidelines ahead of the release of the minutes of the Fed's latest monetary policy meeting on Wednesday.
The minutes of the April 30-May 1 meeting may shed additional light on Fed officials' thinking with regard to the outlook for rates.
Among individual stocks, shares of Peloton Interactive (PTON) have moved sharply lower after the exercise equipment and media company announced a global refinancing that includes an offering of $275.0 million worth of convertible senior notes due 2029.
Auto parts retailer AutoZone (AZO) has also shown a notable move to the downside after report better than expected fiscal third quarter earnings but weaker than expected revenues.
On the other hand, shares of XPeng (XPEV) have surged after the Chinese electric vehicle maker reported fiscal first quarter results that beat analyst estimates on both the top and bottom lines.
Sector News
Most of the major sectors are showing only modest moves on the day, contributing to the lackluster performance by the broader markets.
Transportation stocks are seeing considerable weakness, however, with the Dow Jones Transportation Average falling by 1.6 percent.
Telecom, gold and networking stocks have also moved to the downside, while strength is visible among tobacco, banking and pharmaceutical stocks.
Other Markets
In overseas trading, stock markets across the Asia-Pacific region moved mostly lower during trading on Tuesday. Japan's Nikkei 225 Index and China's Shanghai Composite Index dipped by 0.3 percent and 0.3 percent, respectively, while Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index dove by 2.1 percent.
The major European markets also moved to the downside on the day. While the French CAC 40 Index slid by 0.7 percent, the German DAX Index and the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index edged down by 0.2 percent and 0.1 percent, respectively.
In the bond market, treasuries are regaining ground following the pullback seen over the past few sessions. Subsequently, the yield on the benchmark ten-year note, which moves opposite of its price, is down by 2.7 basis points at 4.410 percent.
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