With traders reluctant to go bargain hunting going into the weekend, stocks have turned in a lackluster performance during trading on Friday. The major averages have been bouncing back and forth across the unchanged line.
The choppy trading on Wall Street comes amid a lack of major U.S. economic data and a relatively light day on the corporate news front.
Earlier in the day, traders seemed likely to pick up stocks at reduced levels following the recent weakness, but buying interest has remained subdued amid lingering concerns about Europe.
Nonetheless, shares of Facebook (FB) have been in focus after the social networking giant made its debut on the Nasdaq in late morning trading. Facebook is currently up by 7 percent.
While most of the major sectors are showing only modest moves, considerable weakness is visible among computer hardware stocks. The NYSE Arca Computer Hardware Index is down by 1.7 percent, falling to its lowest intraday level in well over three months.
Steel, biotechnology, and health insurance stocks are also seeing significant weakness in mid-afternoon trading, while gold stocks are holding on to strong gains.
The major averages have moved back to the downside in recent trading and are currently posting moderate losses. The Dow is down 43.90 points or 0.4 percent at 12,398.59, the Nasdaq is down 17.00 points or 0.6 percent at 2,796.69 and the S&P 500 is down 4.82 points or 0.4 percent at 1,300.04.
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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.