After failing to sustain an initial downward move, stocks have shown a lack of direction over the course of morning trading on Thursday. The major averages have been bouncing back and forth across the unchanged line, turning in another lackluster performance.
The choppy trading comes as traders digest some less than inspiring economic data, including a report from the Labor Department that showed a modest decrease in initial jobless claims in the week ended March 6th but an increase in continuing claims.
Most of the major sectors are showing only modest moves, contributing to the lack of conviction being shown by the broader markets. While some strength is visible among railroad, networking, and banking stocks, the gains are being offset by weakness in the biotech and computer hardware sectors.
The major averages have moved roughly sideways in recent trading, lingering near the unchanged line. The Dow is currently down 6.35 points at 10,560.98, the Nasdaq is down 0.55 point at 2,358.40 and the S&P 500 is down 1.37 points or 1,144.24.
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