Major Averages Remain On Opposite Sides Of The Unchanged Line

(RTTNews) - With traders seemingly reluctant to make any significant moves, stocks continue to show a lack of direction in mid-day trading on Monday. The choppy trading comes on the heels of the rally that was seen last week.

While most of the major sectors continue to show only modest moves in mid-day trading, considerable weakness remains visible among steel stocks. The NYSE Arca Steel Index is down by 1.1 percent amid concerns about Chinese demand.

Railroad stocks are also seeing notable weakness on the day, dragging the Dow Jones Railroads Index down by 1 percent. The index is pulling back off the record closing high set last Friday.

A decrease by the price of crude oil is also weighing on energy stocks, with crude for December delivery sliding $0.57 to $79.97 a barrel.

Meanwhile, computer hardware stocks have shown a strong move to the upside, driving the NYSE Arca Computer Hardware Index up by 1.3 percent. The gain is extending a recent uptrend by the index, which has reached a record intraday high.

Networking, semiconductor, and internet stocks are also seeing some strength on the day, contributing to the gain being posted by the tech-heavy Nasdaq.

Currently, the major averages continue to turn in a mixed performance. While the Dow is down 24.79 points or 0.1 percent at 17,365.73, the Nasdaq is up 18.58 points or 0.4 percent at 4,649.32 and the S&P 500 is up 2.32 points or 0.1 percent at 2,020.37.