After moving mostly higher over the course of the previous session, stocks have turned in a lackluster performance during trading on Friday. The major averages have spent the day bouncing back and forth across the unchanged line.
The major averages have moved to the downside in the past few minutes and are currently posting modest losses. The Dow is down 30.66 points or 0.2 percent at 12,949.64, the Nasdaq is down 8.59 points or 0.3 percent at 2,980.38 and the S&P 500 is down 4.85 points or 0.4 percent at 1,369.24.
The lack of direction being shown by stocks comes amid a lack of major U.S. economic news and a relatively light day on the corporate news front.
Traders seem reluctant to make any significant moves amid lingering questions about whether the global economic outlook supports the strong move to the upside shown by stocks in recent months.
In news out of Europe, leaders of twenty-five of the twenty-seven European Union nations signed a new fiscal compact to enforce tougher budget discipline. The U.K. and the Czech Republic have refused to sign the deal.
The German-inspired agreement, which is due to take effect on January 1, 2013, includes a requirement for national budgets to be in balance or surplus. Moreover, the balanced budget rule must be incorporated into the member states' national legal systems.
Among individual stocks, Big Lots (BIG) is down by 4.4 percent after reporting fourth quarter earnings of $1.75 per share on sales of $1.67 billion. Analysts had expected the retailer to report earnings of $1.73 per share on sales $1.66 billion.
Looking ahead, Big Lots forecast earnings of $0.75 to $0.81 per share for the first quarter and $3.40 to $3.50 per share for 2012. Meanwhile, analysts estimate earnings of $0.81 per share for the first quarter and $3.46 per share for the year.
Foot Locker (FL) is also trading lower after reporting fourth quarter adjusted earnings of $0.55 per share compared to $0.39 per share last year. Sales rose to $1.5 billion from $1.39 billion. The results were ahead of estimates.
Meanwhile, shares of Yelp (YELP) have jumped by 64.7 percent in their first day of trading after the consumer review website priced its IPO at $15 per share.
Sector News
While most of the major sectors are showing only modest moves, significant strength has emerged among airline stocks. Reflecting the strength in the airline sector, the NYSE Arca Airline Index has advanced by 1.1 percent on the day.
The strength in the oil-sensitive airline sector comes amid a notable decrease by the price of crude oil, with crude for April delivery tumbling $1.51 to $107.33 a barrel.
Meanwhile, health insurance stocks have come under considerable selling pressure, dragging the Morgan Stanley Healthcare Payor Index down by 1.7 percent. Centene (CNC) has helped to lead the sector lower, sliding by 4.7 percent.
Gold stocks are also trading notably lower on the day, moving to the downside along with the price of the precious metal. With gold for April delivery falling $6.20 to $1,716.20 an ounce, the NYSE Arca Gold Bugs Index is down by 1.6 percent.
Energy, trucking, and railroad stocks are also seeing significant weakness in mid-day trading, with the drop by the price of crude oil weighing on the energy sector.
Other Markets
In overseas trading, stock markets across the Asia-Pacific region moved higher on Friday following the strength seen on Wall Street overnight. Japan's Nikkei 225 Index rose by 0.7 percent, while Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index ended the day up by 0.8 percent.
Meanwhile, the major European markets turned in a mixed performance on the day. While the French CAC 40 Index edged up by less than a tenth of a percent, the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index and the German DAX Index both fell by 0.3 percent.
In the bond market, treasuries have moved back to the upside after coming under pressure in the two previous sessions. Subsequently, the yield on the benchmark ten-year note, which moves opposite of its price, is down by 6 basis points at 1.977 percent.
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