With traders reluctant to make any significant moves, stocks continue to show a lack of direction in late morning trading on Wednesday. The major averages have spent the morning bouncing back and forth across the unchanged.
The lackluster performance on Wall Street comes as traders continue to express uncertainty about the near-term outlook for the markets, looking for a new catalyst following the Federal Reserve's recent announcement of further quantitative easing.
Traders have largely shrugged off news of additional stimulus from the Bank of Japan as well as a mixed batch of U.S. housing data.
Despite the lack of direction being shown by the broad markets, airline stocks have moved sharply higher on the day after coming under pressure on Tuesday. The NYSE Arca Airline Index is up by 2.5 percent amid strong gains by United Continental (UAL) and US Airways (LCC).
Housing stocks have also shown a strong move to the upside, driving the Philadelphia Housing Sector Index up by 2.2 percent. While data showed housing starts below estimates in August, existing home sales jumped to a two-year high.
On the other hand, railroad stocks are seeing substantial weakness on the day, with the Dow Jones Railroads Index down by 1.8 percent. With the loss, the index is pulling back further off the record closing high it set last Friday.
The major averages are currently mixed, lingering near the unchanged line. While the Nasdaq is down 3.45 points or 0.1 percent at 3,174.35, the Dow is up 16.26 points or 0.1 percent at 13,580.90 and the S&P 500 is up 0.86 points or 0.1 percent at 1,460.18.
For comments and feedback: editorial@rttnews.com