WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - Stocks continue to show a lack of direction in mid-day trading on Wednesday, extending the lackluster performance seen earlier in the session. The major averages have spent most of the day lingering near the unchanged line.
Currently, the major averages are posting modest gains. The Dow is up 85.38 points or 0.3 percent at 29,868.73, the Nasdaq is up 14.86 points or 0.1 percent at 11,914.20 and the S&P 500 is up 6.58 points or 0.2 percent at 3,616.11.
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 2.3 percent after FAA Administrator Steve Dickson signed an order that paves the way for the Boeing 737 MAX to return to commercial service.
Sector News
Airline stocks continue to see substantial strength in mid-day trading, with the NYSE Arca Airline Index soaring by 3.9 percent to its best intraday level in over eight months.
The rally by airline stocks seems to reflect a positive reaction to the Boeing news as well as continued optimism about a coronavirus vaccine.
Considerable strength has also emerged among oil service stocks, as reflected by the 3.6 percent jump by the Philadelphia Oil Service Index.
The strength in the oil service sector comes amid an increase by the price of crude oil, with crude for December delivery climbing $0.71 to $42.14 a barrel.
Natural gas, banking and transportation stocks are also seeing notable strength on the day, while significant weakness remains visible among gold stocks.
The NYSE Arca Gold Bugs Index has climbed off its worst levels of the day but remained down by 1.6 percent, as the price of gold for December delivery drops $6.10 to $1,879 an ounce.
Other 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 all moved to the upside on the day. While the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index rose by 0.3 percent, the French CAC 40 Index and the German DAX Index both climbed by 0.5 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 up by less than a basis point at 0.873 percent.
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