U.S. Stocks Give Back Ground After Early Move To The Upside

(RTTNews) - Stocks moved to the upside early in the trading session on Friday but have given back some ground over the course of the morning. The major averages have pulled back off their highs of the session, with the Nasdaq and the S&P 500 slipping into negative territory.

Currently, the major averages are turning in a mixed performance. While the Dow is up 31.67 points or 0.1 percent at 27,797.96, the Nasdaq is down 16.60 points or 0.2 percent at 8,489.61 and the S&P 500 is down 0.54 points or less than a tenth of a percent at 3,103.00.

The early strength on Wall Street came as traders looked to pick up stocks at somewhat reduced levels following the recent pullback, although buying interest remained subdued amid lingering uncertainty about a U.S.-China trade deal.

Recent reports have suggested the signing of a phase one trade deal could be delayed until next year as U.S. and Chinese officials struggle to reach agreement on core issues.

The next round of U.S. tariffs on Chinese goods is set to take effect on December 15th, potentially complicating efforts to reach an agreement.

In remarks at Bloomberg's New Economy Forum in Beijing, Chinese President Xi Jinping said China wants to work toward a phase one agreement on the basis of mutual respect and equality but will fight back if necessary.

Xi met with former U.S. Secretary of State Henry Kissinger at the forum, reportedly describing U.S.-China relations as being at a critical juncture

"China and the United States should step up communication on strategic concerns to avoid misjudgment and enhance mutual understanding," Xi told Kissinger, according to China's state-run Xinhua News Agency.

Meanwhile, President Donald Trump said in an interview on Fox News this morning that a trade agreement with China is "very close" and that the two economic superpowers have a "very good chance to make a deal."

Traders have largely shrugged off a report from the University of Michigan showing a much bigger than expected upward revision to its reading on U.S. consumer sentiment in the month of November.

The report said the consumer sentiment index for November was upwardly revised to 96.8 from the preliminary reading of 95.7. The revised reading is well above the final October reading of 95.5.

Most of the major sectors are showing only modest moves on the day, contributing to the lackluster performance by the broader markets.

Steel stocks have moved sharply higher over the course of the morning, however, with the NYSE Arca Steel Index surging up by 2.3 percent.

On the other hand, significant weakness has emerged among computer hardware stocks, as reflected by the 1.7 percent slump by the NYSE Arca Computer Hardware Index.

In overseas trading, stock markets across the Asia-Pacific region moved mostly higher on Friday, although Chinese stocks bucked the uptrend. Japan's Nikkei 225 Index rose by 0.3 percent, while Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index climbed by 0.5 percent.

The major European markets have also moved to the upside on the day. While the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index has surged up by 1.4 percent, the French CAC 40 Index and the German DAX Index are both up by 0.3 percent.

In the bond market, treasuries have pulled back near the unchanged line after seeing initial strength. As a result, the yield on the benchmark ten-year note, which moves opposite of its price, is down by less than a basis point at 1.764 percent.