Nasdaq, S&P 500 Rebound From Initial Pullback, Dow Remains In The Red

(RTTNews) - After moving to the downside early in the session, stocks have rebounded over the course of the trading day on Friday. The major averages have climbed well off their early lows, with the Nasdaq and the S&P 500 reaching positive territory.

Currently, the major averages are turning in a mixed performance. While the Dow is down 199.36 points or 0.4 percent at 49,184.65, the S&P 500 is up 17.29 points or 0.3 percent at 6,930.64 and the Nasdaq is up 148.70 points or 0.6 percent at 23,584.72.

The early weakness on Wall Street partly reflected profit taking following the strong upward move seen over the two previous sessions.

Reflecting easing concerns about President Donald Trump's efforts to take control of Greenland, stocks largely offset the steep drop seen on Tuesday.

Selling pressure waned shortly after the start of trading, however, with a report from the University of Michigan showing a bigger than expected improvement in consumer sentiment contributing to the subsequent rebound.

The University of Michigan said its consumer sentiment index for January was upwardly revised to 56.4 from a preliminary reading of 54.0. Economists had expected the index to be unrevised.

With the unexpected upward revision, the consumer sentiment index is well above the December reading of 52.9.

Despite the turnaround by the broader markets, shares of Intel (INTC) continue to see substantial weakness on the day.

The semiconductor giant has plunged by 15.6 percent after reporting better than expected fourth quarter earnings but providing disappointing guidance for the current quarter.

Sector News

Software stocks are turning in some of the market's best performances on the day, with the Dow Jones U.S. Software Index surging by 2.7 percent.

A sharp increase by the price of crude oil is also contributing to considerable strength among oil service stocks, as reflected by the 1.8 percent gain being posted by the Philadelphia Oil Service Index.

On the other hand, computer hardware stocks have shown a significant move to the downside, dragging the NYSE Arca Computer Hardware Index down by 2.4 percent.

Notable weakness is also visible among banking stocks, resulting in a 1.7 percent drop by the KBW Bank Index.

Other Markets

In overseas trading, stock markets across the Asia-Pacific region moved mostly higher during trading on Friday. Japan's Nikkei 225 Index rose by 0.3 percent, while Hong Kong's hang Seng Index climbed by 0.5 percent.

Meanwhile, the major European markets are turning in a mixed performance on the day. While the German DAX Index is up 0.2 percent, the French CAC 40 Index and the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index are both down by 0.1 percent.

In the bond market, treasuries are showing a lack of direction after ending the previous session roughly flat. Currently, the yield on the benchmark ten-year note, which moves opposite of its price, is down by down by less than a basis point at 4.241 percent.