U.S. Stocks Turning In Lackluster Performance Amid Light Trading

Stocks are turning in a lackluster performance during trading on Wednesday, with the major averages lingering near the unchanged line after ending the previous session firmly in positive territory.

Currently, the major averages are narrowly mixed. While the Dow is up 59.98 points or 0.2 percent at 37,605.31, the Nasdaq is down 8.98 points or 0.1 percent at 15,065.59 and the S&P 500 is down 0.08 points or less than a tenth of a percent at 4,774.67.

Traders seem reluctant to continue buying stocks following the recent strength in the markets, which lifted the Nasdaq and S&P 500 to their best closing levels in almost two years on Tuesday.

While market sentiment generally remains positive amid expectations of near-term interest rates cuts, traders may wait for additional catalysts before pushing stocks meaningfully higher.

At the same time, traders seem hesitant to cash in on the recent gains amid concerns about missing out on further upside.

A lack of major U.S. economic data may also be keeping some traders on the sidelines amid a relatively quiet week on the U.S. economic front.

Reports on weekly jobless claims and pending home sales may attract some attention on Thursday, although trading activity is likely to remain subdued ahead of the New Year’s weekend.

Sector News

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

Gold stocks have shown a strong move to the upside, however, with the NYSE Arca Gold Bugs Index climbing by 1.6 percent.

The strength among gold stocks comes as the price of gold for February delivery is jumping $17.40 to $2,087.20 an ounce.

Notable strength is also visible among tobacco stocks, as reflected by the 1.2 percent gain being posted by the NYSE Arca Tobacco Index.

Other Markets

In overseas trading, stock markets across the Asia-Pacific region moved mostly higher during trading on Wednesday. Japan’s Nikkei 225 Index jumped by 1.1 percent, while Hong Kong’s Hang…