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 once again spent the day bouncing back and forth across the unchanged line.
Currently, the major averages are narrowly mixed. While the Dow is down 53.79 points or 0.2 percent at 33,509.07, the Nasdaq is up 13.12 points or 0.1 percent at 13,242.55 and the S&P 500 is up 0.31 points or less than a tenth of a percent at 4,274.10.
Traders remain reluctant to make significant moves as they continue to look ahead to next week’s Federal Reserve meeting.
The Fed is due to announce its latest monetary policy decision next Wednesday, with the central bank widely expected to pause its recent series of interest rate hikes.
Key inflation reports are also likely to be in the spotlight next week, as the data could impact whether the Fed resumes its rate hikes next month.
CME Group’s FedWatch Tool is currently indicating a 79.4 percent chance the Fed will leave rates unchanged next week but a 52.7 percent chance of another quarter point increase in July.
A lack of major U.S. economic data may also be keeping traders on the sidelines, although reports on the U.S. trade deficit and weekly jobless claims may attract some attention in the coming days.
Among individual stocks, shares of GitLab (GTLB) have soared after the software development platform company reported a narrower than expected fiscal first quarter loss on revenues that exceeded analyst estimates.
Recreational vehicle manufacturer Thor Industries (THO) has also surged after reporting fiscal third quarter results that beat expectations and raising its full-year earnings guidance.
On the other hand, Coinbase (COIN) is seeing significant weakness after the SEC charged the company with operating its crypto asset trading platform as an unregistered national securities exchange, broker, and clearing agency.
Sector News
Despite the lackluster performance by the broader markets, airline stocks have moved sharply higher on the day, with the NYSE Arca Airline Index soaring by 3.2 percent to its best intraday level in almost a year.
Substantial strength is also visible among banking stocks, as reflected by the 3.0 percent surge by the KBW Bank Index. With the jump, the index has reached its best intraday level in well over a month.
Housing stocks also continue to see significant strength, driving the Philadelphia Housing Sector Index up 2.3 percent to a well over one-year intraday high.
Tobacco, steel and brokerage stocks are also seeing considerable strength on the day, while healthcare stocks have moved to the downside over the course of the session.
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 jumped by 0.9 percent, while China’s Shanghai Composite Index tumbled by 1.2 percent.
Meanwhile, the major European markets moved modestly higher on the day. While the U.K.’s FTSE 100 Index rose by 0.4 percent, the German DAX Index edged up by 0.2 percent and the French CAC 40 Index inched up by 0.1 percent.
In the bond market, treasuries have climbed back near the unchanged line after moving to the downside earlier in the session. As a result, the yield on the benchmark ten-year note, which moves opposite of its price, is up by less than a basis point at 3.701 percent.
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