Stocks are showing a lack of direction in early trading on Friday after falling sharply in recent sessions. The major averages are lingering near the unchanged line after ending the previous session at their worst closing levels in over three months.
The major averages are currently turning in a mixed performance, with the Nasdaq just below the flat line. The Nasdaq is down 0.35 points or less than a tenth of a percent at 2,813.34, while the Dow is up 11.24 points or 0.1 percent at 12,453.73 and the S&P 500 is up 3.40 points or 0.3 percent at 1,308.26.
The choppy trading comes amid a lack of major U.S. economic data and a relatively light day in terms of corporate news. Lingering concerns about the financial situation in Europe have dissuaded traders from doing much bargain hunting.
Traders are keeping a close on Facebook (FB), with the social networking giant set to begin trading on the Nasdaq at around 11 am ET.
Facebook announced Thursday that it priced its initial public offering at $38 per share, at the top end of its estimated price range of $34 to $38. The company raised $16 billion with the offering, marking the largest ever IPO for a technology company. The offer price values the company at $104 billion.
Most of the major sectors are showing only modest moves, although significant strength has emerged among gold stocks. Adding to the strong gain posted on Thursday, the NYSE Arca Gold Bugs Index is up by 2.8 percent amid an increase by the price of gold.
While natural gas and oil stocks are also trading higher, biotechnology stocks have come under pressure in early trading. The NYSE Arca Biotechnology Index is down by 1.5 percent, with Sequenom (SQNM) leading the way lower.
Electronic storage and airline stocks are also seeing early weakness, adding to the steep losses posted in the previous session.
In overseas trading, stock saw considerable weakness during trading on Friday following the overnight sell-off on Wall Street. Japan's Nikkei 225 Index tumbled by 3 percent, while Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index ended the day down by 1.3 percent.
Meanwhile, the major European markets are turning in a mixed performance on the day. While the French CAC 40 Index is up by 0.1 percent, the German DAX Index is down by 0.2 percent and the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index is down by 0.9 percent.
In the bond market, treasuries are giving back some ground after moving notably higher in recent sessions. Subsequently, the yield on the benchmark ten-year note, which moves opposite of its price, is up by 3.1 basis points at 1.733 percent.
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