Stocks have shown a lack of direction over the course of the trading day on Thursday, as traders seem reluctant to make any significant moves ahead of tomorrow's monthly jobs report. The choppy trading comes after the markets turned in a strong performance in the previous session.
The major averages are currently turning in a mixed performance, with the Dow posting a modest loss. While the Dow is down 9.00 points or 0.1 percent at 12,707.46, the Nasdaq is up 12.09 points or 0.4 percent at 2,860.36 and the S&P 500 is up 1.54 points or 0.1 percent at 1,325.63.
Earlier in the session, some positive sentiment was generated by the release of a report from the Labor Department showing a bigger than expected drop in initial jobless claims in the week ended January 28th.
The report showed that jobless claims dipped to 367,000 from the previous week's revised figure of 379,000. Economists had expected jobless claims to edge down to 370,000 from the 377,000 originally reported for the previous week.
Buying interest remained relatively subdued, however, as traders are looking ahead to the release of the Labor Department's more comprehensive report on the employment situation on Friday.
Traders are also digesting remarks from Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke, who told the House Budget Committee that the U.S. economy is on the mend but is not yet ready to stand on its own two feet without help from the Fed.
"Over the past two and a half years, the U.S. economy has been gradually recovering from the recent deep recession," Bernanke said in prepared testimony.
He added, "While conditions have certainly improved over this period, the pace of the recovery has been frustratingly slow, particularly from the perspective of the millions of workers who remain unemployed or underemployed."
Among individual stocks, shares of Qualcomm (QCOM) are up by 2.7 percent after the wireless chip maker reported better than expected first quarter results. The company also issued healthy second quarter and full year guidance.
Allstate (ALL) is also turning in a strong performance after the insurance company reported fourth quarter operating income that exceeded estimates, as catastrophe losses declined.
On the other hand, chemical giant Dow Chemical (DOW) is posting a modest loss after reporting a fourth quarter loss compared to a year-ago profit. While the company reported a profit excluding charges, the figure came in below analyst estimates.
Sector News
Despite the lack of direction being shown by the broader markets, significant strength has emerged among gold stocks. Reflecting the strength in the gold sector, the NYSE Arca Gold Bugs Index is up by 1.6 percent after reaching its highest intraday level in almost two months earlier in the session.
The strength among gold stocks comes amid a notable increase by the price of the precious metal, with gold for April delivery climbing $11.40 to $1,760.90 an ounce. The price of gold reached a high of $1,763.80 an ounce in earlier trading, its highest intraday level in nearly two months.
Considerable strength also remains visible among telecom stocks, with the NYSE Arca Telecom Index up by 1.6 percent. At its high for the session, the index was at a six-month intraday high.
While biotechnology, airline, and oil service stocks are also seeing moderate strength on the day, health insurance stocks have come under pressure. The Morgan Stanley Healthcare Payor Index has tumbled by 1.8 percent after ending the previous session at a record closing high.
Pharmaceutical stocks are also seeing some weakness in mid-day trading, although selling pressure is relatively subdued.
Other Markets
In overseas trading, stock markets across the Asia-Pacific region moved mostly higher on Thursday, benefiting from the optimism seen on Wall Street overnight. Japan's Nikkei 225 Index advanced by 0.8 percent, while Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index surged up by 2 percent.
The major European markets also moved to the upside over the course of the trading day. While the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index edged up by 0.1 percent, the French CAC 40 Index rose by 0.3 percent, and the German DAX Index climbed 0.6 percent.
In the bond market, treasuries have shown a lack of direction on the day amid the volatility on Wall Street. The yield on the benchmark ten-year note, which moves opposite of its price, is down by 1.4 basis points at 1.832 percent.
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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.