With many traders staying on the sidelines, stocks continue to show a lack of direction in late morning trading on Wednesday. The major averages have been bouncing back and forth across the unchanged line after ending the previous session mixed.
The lackluster performance comes as traders seem reluctant to make any significant moves after recent strength in the markets lifted the Dow above 13,000 on Tuesday.
Traders may be waiting for news that either supports further upside for the markets or inspires profit taking following the recent rally.
While most of the major sectors are showing only modest moves, notable weakness has emerged among banking stocks. The KBW Bank Index is down by 1 percent, pulling back further off the six-month intraday high it set during trading on Tuesday.
Housing stocks are also under pressure, with Toll Brothers (TOL) showing a notable drop after the luxury homebuilder reported an unexpected first quarter loss.
Networking, steel, and airline stocks are also seeing moderate weakness on the day, while considerable strength is visible among oil service and healthcare provider stocks. The strength among oil service stocks comes amid a modest increase by the price of crude oil.
The major averages are currently posting modest losses but are off their worst levels of the day. The Dow is down 2.01 points or less than a tenth of a percent at 12,963.61, the Nasdaq is down 2.82 points or 0.1 percent at 2,945.75 and the S&P 500 is down 0.63 points or 0.1 percent at 1,361.58.
For comments and feedback contact: editorial@rttnews.com
Market Analysis
June 12, 2026 17:14 ET Major central bank action was the focus this week in economic news. The European Central Bank became the first major central bank to move in response to the rising inflationary pressures in the backdrop of the conflict in the Middle East. In North America, the U.S. inflation and trade data as well as Canada’s central bank decision gained attention. The Chinese trade data was the main news in Asia.