Stocks have shown a lack of direction over the course of the trading day on Wednesday after falling sharply in recent sessions. While weakness among tech stocks has helped to keep the Nasdaq in the red, the Dow and the S&P 500 have been bouncing back and forth across the unchanged line.
The major averages are currently turning in a mixed performance, with the Nasdaq down 11.14 points or 0.4 percent at 2,690.42, while the Dow is up 13.62 points or 0.1 percent at 12,084.43 and the S&P 500 is up 0.41 points or less than a tenth of a percent at 1,285.35.
The choppy trading comes as traders continue to express concerns about the economic outlook while also reacting to indications that the recent selling in the markets may have been overdone.
The markets also continue to digest yesterday's comments from Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke, who spoke at the International Monetary Conference in Atlanta near the end of the trading day on Tuesday.
Bernanke acknowledged that the economic recovery has been "uneven" and "frustratingly slow" but indicated that the Fed is not likely to take additional steps to prop up the economy.
"Overall, despite the slightly more downbeat tone on the economic recovery, Bernanke didn't offer any hints that QE3 could be coming soon," said Paul Ashworth, Chief U.S. Economist at Capital Economics. "Somewhat surprisingly, he even admitted that 'monetary policy cannot be a panacea.'"
Another light day on the economic front is also contributing to the lackluster performance on Wall Street, although the Federal Reserve is due to release its Beige Book at 2 pm ET.
The Beige Book, a compilation of anecdotal evidence on economic conditions from each of the 12 Federal Reserve districts, is typically released about two weeks before the central bank hold its monetary policy meeting.
Sector News
Extending a recent downward move, networking stocks have moved sharply lower over the course of the trading day. The NYSE Arca Networking Index has fallen by 2.6 percent, dropping to its lowest intraday level in four months.
Ciena (CIEN) has helped to lead the sector lower, with the networking equipment maker down by 14.5 percent after hitting its worst intraday level in over five months. The loss by Ciena comes after it reported a wider than expected second quarter loss and provided disappointing third quarter guidance.
Gold stocks are also seeing considerable weakness, resulting in a 2.3 percent loss the NYSE Arca Gold Index, which has also hit a four-month low. The weakness in the sector comes as gold for August delivery has fallen $5.40 to $1,538.60 an ounce.
Housing, semiconductor, and software stocks are also posting notable losses on the day. Within the housing sector, Hovnanian (HOV) is down by 4.3 percent after the homebuilder reported a wider second quarter loss on weaker than expected revenues.
Meanwhile, moderate strength among oil producer, banking, and natural gas stocks is helping to offset the aforementioned losses. The gains by oil stocks come as crude for July delivery has risen $2.08 to $101.17 a barrel on news that OPEC has unexpectedly decided to leave its production quotas unchanged.
Other Markets
Overseas, stock markets in the Asia-Pacific region closed mostly lower on Wednesday, with Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index and Australia's All Ordinaries Index falling by 0.9 percent and 0.7 percent, respectively. Japan's Nikkei 225 Index bucked the downtrend, however, edging up by 0.1 percent.
The major European markets also showed notable moves to the downside on the day. The U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index fell by 1 percent, while the French CAC 40 Index and the German DAX Index closed down 0.9 percent and 0.6 percent, respectively.
In the bond market, treasuries have shown a strong upward move on the day after ending the previous session nearly flat. Subsequently, the yield on the benchmark ten-year note, which moves opposite of its price, is currently down by 4.5 basis points at 2.966 percent.
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May 08, 2026 15:50 ET Manufacturing and services sector survey results and labor market data from main economies were the highlight on the economics news front this week. Factory orders and jobs report dominated the news flow in the U.S. Similarly, industrial production data from German garnered attention in Europe. In Asia, purchasing managers’ survey results from China and the central bank decision from Australia were in focus.