WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - Stocks have shown a lack of direction over the course of the trading session on Monday, with the Nasdaq and the S&P 500 bouncing back and forth across the unchanged line following the strong performance seen last week.
Currently, the Nasdaq and the S&P 500 are posting modest gains. The Nasdaq is up 49.37 points or 0.2 percent at 25,163.81, while the S&P 500 is up 1.32 points or less than a tenth of a percent at 7,231.44.
The narrower Dow, on the other hand, has spent the day in negative territory and is currently down 222.98 points or 0.5 percent at 49,276.29.
The choppy trading on Wall Street comes as uncertainty about the situation in the Middle East may be keeping some traders on the sidelines.
Over the weekend, President Donald Trump said he would be reviewing a new peace proposal from Iran but said he 'can't imagine that it would be acceptable.'
'They have not yet paid a big enough price for what they have done to Humanity, and the World, over the last 47 years,' Trump said of Iran in a post on Truth Social.
Trump said in a separate post that the U.S. would soon begin helping to 'free' ships from countries not involved with the Middle East dispute that are stranded due to the closure of the Strait of Hormuz.
'If, in any way, this Humanitarian process is interfered with, that interference will, unfortunately, have to be dealt with forcefully,' Trump said.
The news of the president's plan comes amid reports Iran's Navy has blocked 'American-Zionist' warships from entering the Strait of Hormuz.
Iranian state media also claimed the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps hit a U.S. warship with two missiles, although U.S. Central Command denied the report and said, 'No U.S. Navy ships have been struck.'
Traders may also be reluctant to make significant moves ahead of the release of the closely watched monthly jobs report on Friday.
Sector News
Reflecting the lackluster performance by the broader markets, most of the major sectors are showing only modest moves on the day.
Software stocks have shown a strong move to the upside, however, with the Dow Jones U.S. Software Index climbing by 1.7 percent.
Considerable strength is also visible among computer hardware stocks, as reflected by the 1.5 percent gain being posted by the NYSE Arca Computer Hardware Index.
On the other hand, transportation stocks have shown a substantial move to the downside, dragging the Dow Jones Transportation Average down by 3.8 percent.
Other Markets
In overseas trading, stock markets across the Asia-Pacific region moved mostly higher on Monday, with markets in Japan and mainland China closed for holidays. South Korea's Kospi spiked by 5.1 percent, while Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index shot up by 1.2 percent.
Meanwhile, most European stocks have moved to the downside on the day. With the U.K. markets closed for a holiday, the German DAX Index is down by 0.4 percent and the French CAC 40 Index is down by 1.1 percent.
In the bond market, treasuries are giving back ground following the rebound seen over the two previous sessions. Subsequently, the yield on the benchmark ten-year note, which moves opposite of its price, is up by 3.8 basis points at 4.416 percent.
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