Major Averages Showing A Lack Of Direction In Early Trading

(RTTNews) - With traders digesting a mixed batch of U.S. economic data, stocks have shown some volatility in early trading on Thursday. The major averages have been bouncing back and forth across the unchanged line after ending the previous session firmly in the red.

The choppy trading on Wall Street comes as traders digest the latest economic data, including reports on weekly jobless claims and pending home sales.

While the Labor Department said initial jobless claims unexpectedly fell to a nearly four-month low last week, the National Association of Realtors recently released a report showing that pending home sales fell for the eighth straight month in February.

The Commerce Department also released a report showing an upward revision to fourth quarter GDP growth, although the data has largely been shrugged off as old news.

While most of the major sectors are showing only modest moves, notable strength is visible among telecom stocks. Sprint (S) is posting a strong gain after forming a shared network alliance with NetAmerica.

Oil service, steel, and gold stocks are also seeing some strength in early trading, while airline stocks are moving to the downside.

Currently, the major averages are turning in a mixed performance, although they are all nearly flat. While the Dow is up 2.85 points or less than 0.1 percent at 16,271.84, the Nasdaq is down 3.06 points or 0.1 percent at 4,170.52 and the S&P 500 is down 0.35 points or less than 0.1 percent at 1,852.21.