WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - After an initial move to the upside, stocks have shown a lack of direction over the course of the trading session on Friday. The major averages have been bouncing back and forth across the unchanged line after closing mixed for two straight days.
Currently, the major averages are narrowly mixed. While the Nasdaq is down 6.42 points or less than a tenth of a percent at 19,105.90, the Dow is up 29.55 points or 0.1 percent at 42,352.30 and the S&P 500 is up 4.00 points or 0.1 percent at 5,920.93.
Despite the choppy trading on the day, the S&P 500 remains poised to post a strong gain for the week, with the index currently up by 4.6 percent.
Traders have recently been encouraged by Monday's news of a U.S.-China trade deal temporarily slashing steep tariffs on each other's goods.
However, lingering uncertainty about the U.S. and its trade partners reaching deals that permanently lower tariffs has kept overall buying interest somewhat subdued.
Positive sentiment was also offset by preliminary data released by the University of Michigan showing consumer sentiment in the U.S. has unexpectedly continued to deteriorate in the month of May.
The University of Michigan said its consumer sentiment index dipped to 50.8 in May after slumping to 52.2 in April. Economists had expected the index to inch up to 53.4.
With the unexpected decrease, the consumer sentiment index has fallen to its lowest level since hitting 50.0 in June 2022.
The report also said year-ahead inflation expectations surged to 7.3 percent in May from 6.5 percent in April, reaching the highest level since a matching figure in November 1981.
Sector News
Reflecting the lackluster performance by the broader markets, most of the major sectors are showing only modest moves on the day.
Biotechnology stocks have shown a strong move to the upside, however, with the NYSE Arca Biotechnology Index climbing by 1.9 percent.
On the other hand, gold stocks have moved notably lower along with the price of the precious metal, while weakness is also visible among steel and energy stocks.
Other Markets
In overseas trading, stock markets across the Asia-Pacific region turned in a mixed performance on Friday. China's Shanghai Composite Index fell by 0.4 percent and Japan's Nikkei 225 Index closed just below the unchanged line, while Australia's S&P/ASX 200 Index advanced by 0.6 percent.
Meanwhile, the major European markets have all moved to the upside on the day. While the German DAX Index is just above the unchanged line, the French CAC 40 Index is up by 0.2 percent and the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index is up by 0.5 percent.
In the bond market, treasuries are extending the notable rebound seen in the previous session. As a result, the yield on the benchmark ten-year note, which moves opposite of its price, is down by 2.1 basis points at 4.434 percent.
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