WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - Strength among technology stocks has contributed to a continued advance by the Nasdaq on Tuesday, while the Dow has spent the day stuck in negative territory and the S&P 500 has been bouncing back and forth across the unchanged line.
Currently, the major averages continue to turn in a mixed performance. While the Nasdaq is up 48.81 points or 0.5 percent at 10,482.46, the Dow is down 188.13 points or 0.7 percent at 26,098.90 and the S&P 500 is down 3.33 points or 0.1 percent at 3,176.39.
The Nasdaq is moving higher for the sixth consecutive session, driving the tech-heavy index to another new record intraday high.
Since hitting its lowest level in over a year in March, the Nasdaq has soared by more than 58 percent as tech companies are seen as holding up relatively well in the face of the coronavirus-induced economic downturn.
Tech giants like Apple (AAPL), Microsoft (MSFT) and Netflix (NFLX) have helped to lead the Nasdaq higher, with all three stocks reaching new record highs during today's trading.
The continued advance by the Nasdaq also comes amid considerable strength among biotechnology stocks, as reflected by the 2.2 percent spike by the NYSE Arca Biotechnology Index.
Within the biotech sector, Novavax (NVAX) is soaring by 30.6 percent after announcing it has been awarded $1.6 billion in funding by the federal government's Covid-19 vaccine development program.
Gold stocks have also shown a substantial move to the upside on the day, driving the NYSE Arca Gold Bugs Index up by 2.2 percent to its best intraday level in over seven years.
The rally by gold stocks comes amid a notable increase by the price of the precious metal, with gold for August delivery jumping $14 to $1,807.50 an ounce.
On the other hand, airline stocks have moved sharply lower over the course of the session, dragging the NYSE Arca Airline Index down by 2.8 percent.
Significant weakness has also emerged among banking stocks, as reflected by the 2 percent slump by the KBW Bank Index.
Energy stocks are also seeing considerable weakness despite a modest increase by the price of crude oil, moving lower along with computer hardware, steel and networking stocks.
The pullback by the Dow partly reflects notable losses by Boeing (BA), American Express (AXP), Goldman Sachs (GS) and JPMorgan Chase (JPM).
The mixed performance on Wall Street also comes amid a quiet day on the U.S. economic front, with traders waiting on further evidence of a swift economic recovery.
The economic calendar remains relatively light throughout the week, although reports on weekly jobless claims and producer price inflation may attract some attention in the coming days.
In overseas trading, stock markets across the Asia-Pacific region turned in a mixed performance during trading on Tuesday. Japan's Nikkei 225 Index fell by 0.4 percent, while China's Shanghai Composite Index rose by 0.4 percent.
Meanwhile, the major European markets all moved to the downside on the day. While the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index tumbled by 1.5 percent, the German DAX Index slumped by 0.9 percent and the French CAC 40 Index slid by 0.7 percent.
In the bond market, treasuries have moved modestly higher over the course of the session. As a result, the yield on the benchmark ten-year note, which moves opposite of its price, is down by 1.5 basis points at 0.669 percent.
Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX