U.S. Stocks Turning In Another Lackluster Performance

After an initial move to the downside, stocks have shown a lack of direction over the course of the trading session on Wednesday. The major averages have spent the day bouncing back and forth across the unchanged line.

Currently, the major averages are turning in a mixed performance. While the Dow is up 75.59 points or 0.2 percent at 38,959.85, the S&P 500 is down 8.35 points or 0.2 percent at 5,179.35 and the Nasdaq is down 59.58 points or 0.4 percent at 16,272.98.

The choppy trading on Wall Street comes amid lingering uncertainty about the outlook for interest rates following Tuesday’s remarks by Minneapolis Federal Reserve President Neel Kashkari.

Kashkari suggested interest rates may need to remain at current levels for an “extended period” and said he couldn’t rule out another rate increase.

The Federal Reserve is still widely expected to lower rates sometime in the third quarter, however, with CME Group’s FedWatch Tool currently indicating an 83.5 percent chance rates will be lower by September.

Traders may also remain reluctant to make more significant moves amid another relatively quiet day on the U.S. economic front.

A report on weekly jobless claims may attract attention on Thursday, while the University of Michigan is due to release its preliminary reading on consumer sentiment in May on Friday.

Among individual stocks, shares of Uber Technologies (UBER) have moved sharply lower after the ride-hailing giant reported an unexpected first quarter loss on weaker than expected booking revenue.

Cloud communications company Twilio (TWLO) has also come under pressure after reporting first quarter results that exceeded estimates but providing disappointing second quarter revenue guidance.

Meanwhile, ride-hailing company Lyft (LYFT) has shown a strong move the upside after reporting first quarter results that exceeded analyst estimates on both the top and bottom lines.

Reflecting the lackluster performance by the broader markets, most of the major sectors are showing only modest moves on the day.

Networking stocks have shown a strong move to the upside, however, with the NYSE Arca Networking Index climbing by 1.5 percent.

Arista Networks (ANET) has helped lead the sector higher, surging by 7.4 percent after reporting better than expected first quarter results.

Telecom are also seeing notable strength on the day, while biotechnology and commercial real estate stocks have moved to the downside.

In overseas trading, stock markets across the Asia-Pacific region turned in a mixed performance during trading on Wednesday. Japan’s Nikkei 225 Index slumped by 1.6 percent and China’s Shanghai Composite Index slid by 0.6 percent, while South Korea’s Kospi climbed by 0.4 percent.

Meanwhile, the major European markets all moved to the upside on the day. While the French CAC 40 Index advanced by 0.7 percent, the U.K.’s FTSE 100 Index and the German DAX Index rose by 0.5 percent and 0.4 percent, respectively.

In the bond market, treasuries are giving back ground after moving notably higher over the past several sessions. Subsequently, the yield on the benchmark ten-year note, which moves opposite of its price, is up by 2.7 basis points at 4.490 percent.