WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - Stocks are seeing modest weakness during trading on Tuesday, with the all of the major averages moving lower following the mixed performance seen in the previous session. Selling pressure has remained somewhat subdued, however, limiting the downside for the markets.
Currently, the Dow is down 32.87 points or 0.1 percent at 38,538.16, the Nasdaq is down 43.77 points or 0.3 percent at 16,784.90 and the S&P 500 is down 14.85 points or 0.3 percent at 5,268.55.
The weakness on Wall Street may partly reflect concerns about the outlook for the U.S. economy following yesterday's disappointing manufacturing data.
While economic weakness could prompt the Federal Reserve to lower interest rates in the coming months, the central bank has signaled it plans to keep rates at elevated levels until there is greater confidence inflation is slowing.
A bigger than expected slowdown by the economy combined with high interest rates could prove troubling for stocks, which have recently reached record levels.
The Commerce Department released a report this morning showing U.S. factory orders rose by slightly more than expected in the month of April, although the report also showed a notable downward revision to the March growth.
The report said factory orders climbed by 0.7 percent in April compared to economist estimates for an increase of 0.6 percent.
However, the Commerce Department also said the jump in factory orders in March was downwardly revised to 0.7 percent from the previously reported 1.6 percent.
On Friday, the Labor Department is scheduled to release its closely watched monthly jobs report, which could have a significant impact on the outlook for the economy and interest rates.
Economists currently expect the report to show employment jumped by 190,000 jobs in May after climbing by 175,000 jobs in April, while the unemployment rate is expected to hold at 3.9 percent.
Sector News
Gold stocks have shown a substantial move to the downside on the day, dragging the NYSE Arca Gold Bugs Index down by 4.3 percent.
The sell-off by gold stocks comes amid a steep drop by the price of the precious metal, with gold for August delivery tumbling $31.50 to $2,337.80 an ounce.
Significant weakness is also visible among steel stocks, as reflected by the 2.8 percent slump by the NYSE Arca Steel Index.
Energy stocks are also seeing considerable weakness, as the price of crude oil is seeing further downside after OPEC+ announced plans to increase production starting in October.
Housing, banking and semiconductor stocks have also shown notable moves to the downside, moving lower along with most of the other major sectors.
Other Markets
In overseas trading, stock markets across the Asia-Pacific region turned in a mixed performance during trading on Tuesday. Japan's Nikkei 225 Index dipped by 0.2 percent, while China's Shanghai Composite Index rose by 0.4 percent.
Meanwhile, the major European markets have all moved to the downside on the day. While the German DAX Index has slumped by 1.0 percent, the French CAC 40 Index is down by 0.7 percent and the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index is down by 0.4 percent.
In the bond market, treasuries are extending the strong upward move seen over the past few sessions. As a result, the yield on the benchmark ten-year note, which moves opposite of its price, is down by 4.9 basis points at 4.353 percent.
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