WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - Stocks have shown a lack of direction over the course of the trading day on Thursday, extending the lackluster performance seen for much of the previous session. The major averages have spent the day bouncing back and forth across the unchanged line.
Currently, the major averages are turning in a mixed performance. While the Dow is down 161.64 points or 0.3 percent at 54,187.48, the S&P 500 is up 10.22 points or 0.1 percent at 7,733.77 and the Nasdaq is up 99.44 points or 0.4 percent at 26,462.88.
The choppy trading on Wall Street comes as traders seem reluctant to make significant moves ahead of the release of the Labor Department's closely watched monthly jobs report on Friday.
The report, which is expected to show employment jumped by 88,000 jobs in July after climbing by 57,000 jobs in June, could have a significant impact on the outlook for interest rates.
Ahead of the release of the monthly jobs report, the Labor Department released a report this morning showing a slight uptick in first-time claims for U.S. unemployment benefits in the week ended August 1st.
The Labor Department said initial jobless claims inched up to 199,000, an increase of 1,000 from the previous week's revised level of 198,000.
Economists had expected jobless claims to rise to 202,000 from the 197,000 originally reported for the previous week.
Traders are also keeping an eye on developments in the Middle East following reports Iran and Oman are close to an agreement to once again reopen the Strait of Hormuz.
Despite the news of a potential deal, U.S. crude oil futures are surging by more than 2 percent amid reports of attacks on Saudi tankers in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden.
Sector News
Despite the lackluster performance by the broader markets, telecom stocks have shown a substantial move back to the upside after falling sharply on Wednesday.
Reflecting the strength in the sector, the NYSE Arca North American Telecom Index has spiked by 3.2 percent to a one-month intraday high after tumbling by 2.5 percent in the previous session.
Oil service stocks are also seeing significant strength amid a rebound by the price of crude oil, with the Philadelphia Oil Service Index surging by 3.2 percent.
Semiconductor and gold stocks are also seeing some strength on the day, while housing, computer hardware and airline stocks have shown notable moves to the downside.
Other Markets
In overseas trading, stock markets across the Asia-Pacific region turned in a mixed performance during trading on Thursday. Japan's Nikkei 225 Index slid by 0.9 percent, while China's Shanghai Composite Index rose by 0.6 percent.
Meanwhile, European stocks have moved mostly higher on the day. The French CAC 40 Index is up by 0.8 percent and the German DAX Index is up by 0.3 percent, although the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index has bucked the uptrend and edged down by 0.1 percent.
In the bond market, treasuries are giving back ground amid the rebound by the price of crude oil. Subsequently, the yield on the benchmark ten-year note, which moves opposite of its price, is up by 2.4 basis points at 4.641 percent.
Copyright(c) 2026 RTTNews.com. All Rights Reserved
Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX
© 2026 AFX News
