WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - Stocks have shown a lack of direction over the course of the trading session on Monday, with the major averages bouncing back and forth across the unchanged line following the mixed performance seeing during trading last Friday.
Currently, the major averages are posting modest losses. The Dow is down 53.68 points or 0.1 percent at 42,259.32, the Nasdaq is down 23.29 points or 0.1 percent at 18,096.30 and the S&P 500 is down 2.24 points or less than a tenth of a percent at 5,735.93.
The choppy trading on Wall Street comes as traders seem reluctant to make significant moves ahead of remarks by Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell this afternoon.
Powell is due to speak on the economic outlook before the National Association for Business Economics' Annual Meeting at 1 pm ET.
The Labor Department's monthly jobs report is likely to be in the spotlight later in the week, while reports on manufacturing and service sector activity may also attract attention.
Traders may also be expressing some uncertainty about the near-term outlook for the markets following a strong September, which is historically a weak month for stocks.
On the economic front, MNI Indicators released a report showing a continued contraction by Chicago-area business activity in the month of September.
MNI Indicators said its Chicago business barometer rose to 46.6 in September from 46.1 in August, but a reading below 50 still indicates contraction. Economists had expected the business barometer to inch up to 46.2.
Sector News
Most of the major sectors are showing only modest moves on the day, contributing to the lackluster performance by the broader markets.
Gold stocks have shown a significant move to the downside, however, with the NYSE Arca Gold Bugs Index tumbling by 2.2 percent. The weakness in the sector comes amid a decrease by the price of gold.
Considerable weakness is also visible among semiconductor stocks, as reflected by the 1.2 percent loss being posted by the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index.
On the other hand, airline stocks have shown a strong move to the upside, driving the NYSE Arca Airline Index up by 1.1 percent to a three-month intraday high.
Other Markets
In overseas trading, stock markets across the Asia-Pacific region turned in a starkly mixed performance during trading on Monday. Japan's Nikkei 225 Index plunged by 4.8 percent, while China's Shanghai Composite Index skyrocketed by 8.1 percent.
Meanwhile, the major European markets have all moved to the downside on the day. While the French CAC 40 Index has tumbled by 1.7 percent, the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index is down by 0.7 percent and the German DAX Index is down by 0.6 percent.
In the bond market, treasuries have climbed off their worst levels but continue to see modest weakness. As a result, the yield on the benchmark ten-year note, which moves opposite of its price, is up by 2.6 basis points at 3.775 percent.
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