Nasdaq Climbs More Firmly Into Positive Territory, Dow Little Changed

(RTTNews) - After showing a lack of direction early in the session, stocks continue to turn in a relatively lackluster performance in afternoon trading on Monday. While the Nasdaq has climbed more firmly into positive territory, the Dow continues to bounce back and forth across the unchanged line.

Currently, the Nasdaq is up 65.17 points or 0.5 percent 12,349.92 after reaching its best intraday level in well over eight months. The S&P 500 is up 6.70 points or 0.2 percent at 4,130.78, while the Dow is up 4.28 points or less than a tenth of a percent at 33,304.90.

The choppy trading on Wall Street comes as traders are waiting for additional news regarding negotiations over raising the U.S. debt ceiling.

President Joe Biden is scheduled to meet with top congressional leaders about raising the debt ceiling on Tuesday after a meeting last Friday was postponed.

Biden expressed optimism about the talks in remarks to reporters over the weekend, although House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., told NBC News on Monday that the two sides are still "far apart."

"It seems like they want to look like they're in a meeting," McCarthy said outside the Capitol. "They're not talking anything serious."

The lackluster performance also comes as traders look ahead to the release of some key economic data in the coming days.

Traders are likely to keep an eye on reports on retail sales, industrial production and housing starts, looking for additional clues about the outlook for the U.S. economy.

Remarks by Federal Reserve officials are also likely to attract attention this week, with Fed Chair Jerome Powell due to participate in a Perspectives on Monetary Policy panel before the Thomas Laubach Research Conference on Friday.

The New York Fed released a report this morning showing a substantial downturn in regional manufacturing activity in the month of May.

The report said the general business conditions index plunged to a negative 31.8 in May from a positive 10.8 in April, with a negative reading indicating a contraction. Economists had expected the index to drop to a negative 2.5.

Sector News

Despite the lackluster performance by the broader markets, banking stocks have moved sharply higher over the course of the session, driving the KBW Bank Index up by 2.6 percent.

Significant strength has also emerged among computer hardware stocks, as reflected by the 2.3 percent surged by the NYSE Arca Computer Hardware Index.

Biotechnology and semiconductor stocks are also seeing considerable strength on the day, contributing to the advance by the tech-heavy Nasdaq.

Brokerage, oil service and airline stocks have also shown notable moves to the upside, while considerable weakness remains visible among utilities stocks.

Other Markets

In overseas trading, stock markets across the Asia-Pacific region moved mostly higher during trading on Monday. Japan's Nikkei 225 Index advanced by 0.8 percent, while China's Shanghai Composite Index jumped by 1.2 percent.

The major European markets also moved to the upside on the day. While the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index rose by 0.3 percent, the French CAC 40 Index inched up by 0.1 percent and the German DAX Index closed just above the unchanged line.

In the bond market, treasuries are extending the pullback seen in the previous session. Subsequently, the yield on the benchmark ten-year note, which moves opposite of its price, is up by 4.3 basis points at 3.506 percent.