U.S. Stocks Give Back Ground After Early Move To The Upside

After showing a strong move to the upside early in the session, stocks have given back ground over the course of the trading day on Monday. The major averages have pulled back well off their highs of the session and are now lingering near the unchanged line.

Currently, the major averages are slightly higher. The Dow is up 35.53 points or 0.1 percent at 32,839.00, the Nasdaq is up 10.60 points or 0.1 percent at 12,668.16 and the S&P 500 is up 0.66 points or less than a tenth of a percent at 4,145.85.

The early strength on Wall Street extended a recent upward trend on Wall Street, with the major averages continuing to recover from their June lows.

Easing concerns about a potential recession may have contributed to the continued upward move following last week’s much stronger than expected jobs data.

Buying interest has waned over the course of the session, however, as the strong jobs data has increased the likelihood of another 75 basis point interest rate hike by the Federal Reserve next month.

Traders may also have been reluctant to make significant bets ahead of the release of closely watched U.S. inflation data in the coming days.

Economists have suggested that the inflation data could have an even greater impact on Fed officials’ thinking than the jobs data.

The pullback on Wall Street also came following a warning from graphics chip maker Nvidia (NVDA), which has tumbled by 7.5 percent following the news.

Nvidia reported preliminary second quarter revenue of $6.70 billion versus its outlook for $8.10 billion, with weaker gaming revenue for the shortfall.

Sector News

Despite the pullback by the broader markets, substantial strength remains visible among gold stocks, as reflected by the 3.5 percent surge by the NYSE Arca Gold Bugs Index.

The rally by gold stocks comes amid an increase by the price of the precious metal, with gold for December delivery climbing $12.80 to $1804 an ounce.

Airline stocks have pulled back off their best levels but also continue to turn in a strong performance, resulting in a 1.8 percent gain by the NYSE Arca Airline Index. Earlier in the session, the index hit its best intraday level in almost two months.

Housing, oil and tobacco stocks also continue to see notable strength, while the warning from Nvidia has contributed to significant weakness among semiconductor stocks, resulting in a 2.1 percent slump by the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index.

Other Markets

In overseas trading, stock markets across the Asia-Pacific region turned in a mixed performance during trading on Monday. Japan’s Nikkei 225 Index rose by 0.3 percent, while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index slid by 0.8 percent.

Meanwhile, the major European markets all moved to the upside on the day. While the U.K.’s FTSE 100 Index climbed by 0.6 percent, the French CAC 40 Index and the German DAX Index both advanced by 0.8 percent.

In the bond market, treasuries are regaining ground after moving sharply lower last Friday. Subsequently, the yield on the benchmark ten-year note, which moves opposite of its price, is down by 7.9 basis points at 2.761 percent.

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