WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - After moving notably higher over the past few sessions, stocks are turning in a lackluster performance in morning trading on Thursday. The major averages have been showing modest moves, holding close to the unchanged line.
The choppy trading on Wall Street comes as traders seem reluctant to make any significant moves ahead of the long weekend.
A mixed reaction to the latest batch of earnings news is also contributing to the lackluster performance by the broader markets.
While Morgan Stanley (MS) and General Electric (GE) are moving notably higher after reporting their quarterly results, Google (GOOG) and IBM (IBM) have come under significant selling pressure.
Meanwhile, traders have largely shrugged off the day's economic data, including a report from the Labor Department showing a smaller than expected increase in weekly jobless claims.
Most of the major sectors are showing only modest moves, although some strength has recently emerged among semiconductor, biotechnology, and defense stocks.
Currently, the major averages are turning in a mixed performance. While the Dow is down 8.00 points or 0.1 percent at 16,416.85, the Nasdaq is up 15.33 points or 0.4 percent at 4,101.56 and the S&P 500 is up 0.67 points or less than a tenth of a percent at 1,862.98.
Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX