WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - After ending the previous session mostly lower, stocks have shown a lack of direction over the course of morning trading on Wednesday. While the Dow has remained positive, the broader Nasdaq and the S&P 500 have bouncing back and forth across the unchanged line.
Currently, the major averages are turning in a mixed performance. The Nasdaq is down 26.32 points or 0.2 percent at 11,873.03, but the Dow is up 69.46 points or 0.2 percent at 29,852.81 and the S&P 500 is up 1.42 points or less than a tenth of a percent at 3,610.95.
The choppy trading on Wall Street comes as traders express some uncertainty about the near-term outlook for the markets following recent volatility.
The Dow and S&P 500 reached new record closing highs on Monday but gave back ground on Tuesday as some traders cashed in on the recent gains.
Upbeat news about a potential coronavirus vaccine has generated some positive sentiment, although the recent surge in new cases has helped to keep buying interest subdued.
Before the start of trading, Pfizer (PFE) and BioNTech (BNTX) said the final efficacy analysis of an ongoing Phase 3 study of their coronavirus vaccine candidate indicated a vaccine efficacy rate of 95 percent.
The companies said that efficacy was consistent across age, gender, race and ethnicity demographics and suggested the vaccine candidate also helped to fend off severe disease.
Pfizer and BioNTech said they plan to submit a request to the FDA for an Emergency Use Authorization for the vaccine 'within days.'
At the same time, data from John Hopkins University showed there were nearly 162,000 new coronavirus cases on Tuesday, raising concerns about new restrictions and lockdowns.
The Dow is benefiting from a notable advance by shares of Boeing (BA), which are jumping by 3.9 percent after FAA Administrator Steve Dickson signed an order that paves the way for the Boeing 737 MAX to return to commercial service.
Airline stocks have moved sharply higher on the Boeing news as well as the upbeat vaccine news, with the NYSE Arca Airline Index soaring by 3.9 percent to its best intraday level in over eight months.
Notable strength has also emerged among banking stocks, as reflected by the 1.7 percent gain being posted by the KBW Bank Index. The index has also reached an eight-month intraday high.
On the other hand, gold stocks have shown a significant move to the downside, dragging the NYSE Arca Gold Bugs Index down by 1.8 percent
The weakness among gold stocks comes amid a decrease by the price of the precious metal, with gold for December delivery sliding $8.20 to $1,876.90 an ounce.
Most of the other major sectors are showing more modest moves on the day, contributing to the lackluster performance by the broader markets.
In overseas trading, stock markets across the Asia-Pacific region turned in another mixed performance during trading on Wednesday. Japan's Nikkei 225 Index tumbled by 1.1 percent, while China's Shanghai Composite Index edged up by 0.2 percent.
Meanwhile, the major European markets have all moved to the upside on the day. While the French CAC 40 Index has climbed by 0.5 percent, the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index is up by 0.4 percent and the German DAX Index is up by 0.3 percent.
In the bond market, treasuries have pulled back near the unchanged line after seeing initial strength. As a result, the yield on the benchmark ten-year note, which moves opposite of its price, is down by less than a basis point at 0.869 percent.
Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX