WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - After moving to the upside early in the session, stocks have shown a lack of direction over the course of the trading day on Friday. The major averages have spent the day bouncing back and forth across the unchanged line after ending the previous session roughly flat.
Currently, the major averages are posting modest gains. The Dow is up 150.74 points or 0.3 percent at 51,500.72, the Nasdaq is up 50.84 points or 0.2 percent at 26,990.22 and the S&P 500 is up 12.76 points or 0.2 percent at 7,716.89.
The early strength on Wall Street came amid a significant pullback by the price of crude oil, which had surged over the two previous sessions.
U.S. crude oil futures tumbled by as much as 2.7 percent earlier in the day after spiking by 4.5 percent over the past two days.
The sharp pullback by crude oil prices came as traders reacted to the latest reports about a potential deal to end the prolonged conflict between the U.S. and Iran.
New reports indicate that Iran has submitted a proposal to the U.S. to end the war and reopen the Strait of Hormuz within seven days if Washington accepts its conditions.
The price of crude oil has climbed well off its lows of the session then, however, leading to waning buying interest on Wall Street.
A continued surge by treasury yields has also helped to keep positive sentiment subdued, with the yield on the benchmark ten-year note reaching its highest levels since June 2007.
Yields saw further upside following the release of a report from the University of Michigan confirming a sharp increase in year-ahead inflation expectations in the month of September.
Worries about the outlook for inflation have helped solidify expectations that the Federal Reserve will continue raising interest rates next month.
CME Group's FedWatch Tool is currently indicating a 66.4 percent chance the Fed will raise rates by another quarter point at its late October meeting.
Sector News
Reflecting the lackluster performance by the broader markets, most of the major sectors are showing only modest moves on the day.
Computer hardware stocks have shown a significant move to the upside, however, with the NYSE Arca Computer Hardware Index jumping by 2.4 percent
Considerable strength is also visible among airline stocks, as reflected by the 1.6 percent gain being posted by the NYSE Arca Airline Index.
Software and semiconductor stocks are also seeing strength on the day, while energy stocks are showing notable moves to the downside.
Other Markets
In overseas trading, stock markets across the Asia-Pacific region turned in a mixed performance on Friday, with several major markets closed for holidays. Japan's Nikkei 225 Index jumped by 1.3 percent, while Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index slumped by 1 percent.
The major European markets have also turned mixed on the day. While the German DAX Index is up by 0.4 percent, the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index is just below the unchanged line and the French CAC 40 Index is down by 0.2 percent.
In the bond market, treasuries are extending the slump seen over the two previous sessions. As a result, the yield on the benchmark ten-year note, which moves opposite of its price, is up by 6.0 basis points at 5.220 percent.
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