Major Averages Turn Mixed After Seeing Initial Strength

(RTTNews) - After initially moving to the upside, stocks have given back some ground over the course of early trading on Friday. The major averages have pulled back well off their highs for the young session, with the Nasdaq and the S&P 500 sliding into negative territory.

The strength seen at the open was partly due to comments from European Central Bank president Mario Draghi adding to speculation that the bank will provide further stimulus.

In an interview with German financial daily Handelsblatt, Draghi said that the risk of deflation in the euro area has risen and said the ECB is preparing to react to such a threat.

Draghi's comments suggested that the ECB is moving closer to unleashing full-blown quantitative easing, including sovereign bond purchases.

However, the early buying interest was offset by the release of a pair of disappointing economic reports, including a report from the Institute for Supply Management showing that its index of activity in the manufacturing sector fell more than expected.

Trucking stocks have shown a substantial move to the downside since then, dragging the Dow Jones Trucking Index down by 1.7 percent. The index is pulling back further off the record closing high it set Christmas Eve.

Steel, energy, and railroad stocks have also come under pressure, while some strength remains visible among commercial real estate stocks.

Currently, the major averages are turning in a mixed performance, as the Dow is clinging to a modest gain. While the Dow is up 13.10 points or 0.1 percent at 17,836.17, the Nasdaq is down 15.33 points or 0.3 percent at 4,720.73 and the S&P 500 is down 3.19 points or 0.2 percent at 2,055.71.