WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - After moving sharply lower over the course of the previous session, stocks are turning in a relatively lackluster performance during trading on Thursday.
While the tech-heavy Nasdaq is regaining ground, the Dow and the S&P 500 have spent the day lingering near the unchanged line.
Currently, the major averages are turning in a mixed performance. The Nasdaq is up 93.46 points or 0.5 percent at 18,966.10 and the S&P 500 is up 0.85 points or less than a tenth of a percent at 5,845.46, but the Dow is down 37.03 points or 0.1 percent at 41,823.41.
The choppy trading on Wall Street comes as traders seem to be keeping a closer than usual eye on treasury yields, which have recently surged amid concerns about the fiscal impact of a Republican tax cut bill.
The yield on the benchmark ten-year note reached its highest levels in over three months early in the day but has since pulled back near the unchanged line.
The tax cut bill passed the House in a largely party-line vote early this morning, but analysts warn it could add trillions to the federal government's already massive debt. The plan has sparked fears of an even wider deficit, especially as interest payments continue to soar.
In a post on Truth Social, President Donald Trump called the bill 'arguably the most significant piece of Legislation that will ever be signed in the History of our Country' and urged the Senate to send the bill to his desk as soon as possible.
On the U.S. economic front, a report released by the Labor Department unexpectedly showed a slight decline by first-time claims for U.S. unemployment benefits in the week ended May 17th.
The Labor Department said initial jobless claims edged down to 227,000, a decrease of 2,000 from the previous week's unrevised level of 229,000. The dip surprised economists, who had expected jobless claims to inch up to 230,000.
Meanwhile, a separate report released by the National Association of Realtors showed existing home sales in the U.S. unexpectedly saw further downside in the month of April.
NAR said existing home sales fell by 0.5 percent to an annual rate of 4.00 million in April after plunging by 5.9 percent to a rate of 4.02 million in March. Economists had expected existing home sales to jump by 2.0 percent to a rate of 4.10 million.
Sector News
Oil service stocks are turning in some of the market's worst performances amid a decrease by the price of crude oil, with the Philadelphia Oil Service Index falling by 1.6 percent.
Considerable weakness is also visible among utilities stocks, as reflected by the 1.5 percent loss being posted by the Dow Jones Utility Average.
Natural gas, healthcare and steel stocks are also seeing notable weakness, while strength among software and computer hardware stocks is contributing to the increase by the tech-heavy Nasdaq.
Other Markets
In overseas trading, stock markets across the Asia-Pacific region moved mostly lower during trading on Thursday. Japan's Nikkei 225 Index slid by 0.8 percent, while China's Shanghai Composite Index dipped by 0.2 percent.
The major European markets have also moved to the downside on the day. While the German DAX Index is down by 0.6 percent, the French CAC 40 Index and the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index are both down by 0.8 percent.
In the bond market, treasuries have climbed back near the unchanged after initially extending the recent slump. 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 4.589 percent.
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