With traders reluctant to make any significant moves, stocks have shown a lack of direction over the course of morning trading on Friday. The major averages have been lingering near the unchanged line after ending the previous session firmly positive.
The choppy trading comes as traders seem to be staying on the sidelines amid questions about whether the global economic situation supports further upside for the markets.
The markets largely shrugged off the release of a report showing an unexpected improvement in consumer sentiment in the month of February as well as a report showing that new home sales came in well above estimates in January.
Most of the major sectors are showing only modest moves, although considerable strength is visible among health insurance. Reflecting the strength in the health insurance sector, the Morgan Stanley Healthcare Payor Index has advanced by 1.2 percent.
Steel and railroad stocks are also seeing notable strength on the day, while banking, gold, and housing stocks have moved to the downside.
The major averages are currently mixed, with the Dow posting a modest loss after briefly topping 13,000. While the Dow is down 7.19 points or 0.1 percent at 12,977.50, the Nasdaq is up 2.56 points or 0.1 percent at 2,959.54 and the S&P 500 is up 1.90 points or 0.1 percent at 1,365.36.
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