TMCnet News
Stocks Continue To See Modest Weakness In Mid-Day Trading - US Commentary(Alliance News Via Acquire Media NewsEdge) WASHINGTON (Alliance News) - While selling pressure has remained relatively subdued, stocks continue to see modest weakness in mid-day trading on Wednesday. The losses on the day come on the heels of the upward trend seen over the past several sessions. The major averages have moved roughly sideways in recent trading, lingering in the red. The Nasdaq is down 20.08 points or 0.5% at 4,141.38, while the Dow is down 18.97 points or 0.1% at 16,495.40 and the S&P 500 is down 1.95 point or 0.1% at 1,877.60. The weakness on Wall Street is partly due to profit taking following the recent upward move, with the Nasdaq and the S&P 500 giving back ground after closing higher for six consecutive sessions. Traders are also digesting the latest batch of earnings news, including quarterly results from big-name companies such as AT&T (T), Procter & Gamble (PG), and Dow Chemical (DOW). Shares of AT&T have fallen by 3% even though the telecom giant reported better than expected first quarter results. Traders seem disappointed that the company raised its full-year revenue growth target but left its earnings guidance unchanged. Consumer products giant Procter & Gamble has also moved to the downside after reporting an unexpected drop in fiscal third quarter net sales and lowering its forecast for full-year net sales growth. On the other hand, shares of Dow Chemical have shown a strong upward move after the chemical giant reported better than expected first quarter earnings. Traders largely seem to have shrugged off a report from the Commerce Department that unexpectedly showed a steep drop in new home sale in March. The report said new home sales plunged 14.5% to an annual rate of 384,000 in March from the revised February rate of 449,000. The steep drop came as a surprise to economists, who had expected new home sales to climb to a rate of 455,000 from the 440,000 originally reported for the previous month. Sector News Electronic storage stocks continue to see considerable weakness in mid-day trading, with the NYSE Arca Disk Drive Index falling by 1.5%. The index is giving back ground after closing higher in five out of the six previous sessions. EMC Corp. (EMC) has helped to lead the storage sector lower, with the data storage equipment maker tumbling by 3.4% after lowering its full-year earnings guidance. Notable weakness has also emerged among biotechnology stocks, as reflected by the 1.1% loss being posted by the NYSE Arca Biotechnology Index. Industry giant Amgen (AMGN) is posting a steep loss after reporting weaker than expected first quarter results. Software, telecom, and housing stocks are also seeing some weakness in mid-day trading, although selling pressure has remained subdued. Meanwhile, airline stocks have shown a strong move to the upside on the day, driving the NYSE Arca Airline Index up by 1.7%. Delta (DAL) is posting a notable gain after reporting better than expected first quarter earnings. Other Markets In overseas trading, stock markets across the Asia-Pacific region turned in another mixed performance during trading on Wednesday. Japan's Nikki 225 Index surged up by 1.1%, while Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index dropped by 1%. Meanwhile, the major European markets all ended the day in the red. While the UK's FTSE 100 Index edged down by 0.1%, the German DAX Index and the French CAC 40 Index fell by 0.6% and 0.7%, respectively. In the bond market, treasuries are moving to the upside after closing nearly flat for two straight days. Subsequently, the yield on the benchmark ten-year note, which moves opposite of its price, is down by 4.6 basis points at 2.68%. Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX |