Stocks Continue To Turn In A Lackluster Performance - U.S. Commentary

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

Currently, the major averages are all in positive territory, although the Dow is up only 3.05 points or less than a tenth of a percent at 17,882.60. The Nasdaq is up 8.58 points or 0.2 percent at 4,764.39 and the S&P 500 is up 3.55 points or 0.2 percent at 2,070.10.

The lackluster performance on Wall Street comes as traders are digesting a mixed batch of U.S. economic data while looking ahead to the release of the closely watched monthly jobs report on Friday.

Before the start of trading, payroll processor ADP released a report showing that private sector job growth fell short of economist estimates in November.

ADP said private sector employment rose by 208,000 jobs in November, while economists had been expecting an increase of about 225,000 jobs.

Meanwhile, the Institute for Supply Management released a separate report showing much faster than expected growth in U.S. service sector activity.

The ISM said its non-manufacturing index jumped to 59.3 in November from 57.1 in October, with a reading above 50 indicating growth in the service sector. Economists had expected the index to inch up to 57.5.

The Federal Reserve is also scheduled to release its Beige Book report later in the day. The report provides anecdotal evidence on economic conditions in the twelve Fed districts.

Among individual stocks, shares of Sequenom (SQNM) are moving sharply higher after the life sciences company settled a patent dispute with Illumina (ILMN) over prenatal testing products.

Brokerage services provider GFI Group (GFIG) is also turning in a strong performance after CME Group (CME) raised its offer to acquire the company to $5.25 per share.

Meanwhile, shares of Bob Evans (BOBE) have come under pressure after the restaurant chain reported better than expected second quarter earnings but provided disappointing guidance.

Sector News

Despite the lack of direction being shown by the broader markets, gold stocks are seeing substantial strength in mid-day trading. Reflecting the strength in the gold sector, the NYSE Arca Gold Bugs Index has surged up by 3.9 percent.

The rally by gold stocks comes amid an increase by the price of the precious metal, with gold for February delivery climbing $11.10 to $1,210.50 an ounce.

Significant strength is also visible among steel stocks, as reflected by the 2.8 percent gain being posted by the NYSE Arca Steel Index. The index is regaining some ground after ending the previous session at its lowest closing level in well over a year.

Oil service stocks are also regaining ground following recent weakness, with the Philadelphia Oil Service Index up by 2.3 percent. The gain by the index comes after it ended Tuesday's trading at a two-year low.

Railroad, semiconductor, and networking stocks have also moved to the upside on the day, while some weakness is visible among utilities and biotech stocks.

Other Markets

In overseas trading, stock markets across the Asia-Pacific region turned in a mixed performance during trading on Wednesday. Japans Nikkei 225 Index rose by 0.3 percent, while Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index slumped by 1 percent.

The major European markets also ended the day mixed. While the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index fell by 0.4 percent, the German DAX Index climbed by 0.4 percent and the French CAC 40 Index inched up by 0.1 percent.

In the bond market, treasuries are seeing modest weakness, extending the pullback seen in the two previous sessions. Subsequently, the yield on the benchmark ten-year note, which moves opposite of its price, is up by 1.3 basis points at 2.298 percent.