Nasdaq Remains Firmly Positive In Afternoon Trading, Dow Stuck In The Red

While the tech-heavy Nasdaq is extending the strong upward move seen in the previous session, the Dow has given back some ground during trading on Tuesday. The S&P 500 has spent the day bouncing back and forth across the unchanged line.

Currently, the Nasdaq is well off its highs of the session but remains up 107.06 points or 0.8 percent at 13,566.77. The S&P 500 is also up 5.62 points or 0.1 percent at 3,974.56, while the Dow is down 99.98 points or 0.3 percent at 32,853.48.

The Nasdaq benefiting from continued strength among tech stocks, which comes as treasury yields continue to pull back after spiking last Friday.

The drop in yields, which move opposite of prices, comes as some traders are picking up treasuries following the release of a batch of disappointing U.S. economic data.

Before the start of trading, the Commerce Department released a report showing U.S. retail sales pulled back by much more than anticipated in the month of February.

The Commerce Department said retail sales plunged by 3.0 percent in February after soaring by an upwardly revised 7.6 percent in January.

Economists had expected retail sales to dip by 0.5 percent compared to the 5.3 percent spike originally reported for the previous month.

Excluding a drop in auto sales, retail sales still tumbled by 2.7 percent in February after skyrocketing by 8.3 percent in January. Ex-auto sales were expected to edge down by 0.1 percent.

The Federal Reserve also released a report showing an unexpected slump in U.S. industrial production in February, with steep drops in manufacturing and mining output more than offsetting a sharp increase in utilities output.

The Fed said industrial production tumbled by 2.2 percent in February after jumping by an upwardly revised 1.1 percent in January.

The pullback surprised economists, who had expected industrial production to climb by 0.6 percent compared to the 0.9 percent increase originally reported for the previous month.

The Fed said the severe winter weather in the south central region of the country in mid-February accounted for the bulk of the declines in output for the month.

Meanwhile, traders continue to look ahead to the Fed’s monetary policy announcement on Wednesday.

Traders will be paying close attention to any changes to the Fed’s statement as well as any revisions to the central bank’s forecasts for the economy, inflation and interest rates.

Sector News

Energy stocks continue to see substantial weakness in afternoon trading, moving lower along with the price of crude oil. Crude for April delivery is sliding $0.70 to $64.69 a barrel.

Reflecting the weakness in the energy sector, the Philadelphia Oil Service Index is down by 3.7 percent and the NYSE Arca Oil Index is down by 2.4 percent.

Profit taking has also contributed to considerable weakness among airline stocks, with the NYSE Arca Airline Index tumbling by 2.7 percent after ending Monday’s trading at its best closing level in almost three years.

Banking stocks have also shown a notable move to the downside, dragging the KBW Bank Index down by 1.3 percent. The index is pulling back further off the record closing high set last Friday.

On the other hand, semiconductor stocks are extending yesterday’s rally, with the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index surging up by 2.3 percent.

Significant strength also remains visible among software stocks, as reflected by the 1.2 percent advance by the Dow Jones U.S. Software Index.

Other Markets

In overseas trading, stock markets across the Asia-Pacific region moved mostly higher during trading on Tuesday. Japan’s Nikkei 225 Index rose by 0.5 percent, while China’s Shanghai Composite Index advanced by 0.8 percent.

The major European markets also moved to the upside on the day. While the French CAC 40 Index edged up by 0.3 percent, the German DAX Index and the U.K.’s FTSE 100 Index climbed by 0.7 percent and 0.8 percent, respectively.

In the bond market, treasuries have seen considerable volatility in recent trading. Subsequently, the yield on the benchmark ten-year note, which moves opposite of its price, is down by less than a basis point at 1.600 percent.

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