(RTTNews) - Stocks have shown a lack of direction over the course of morning trading on Friday, with the major averages bouncing back and forth across the unchanged line. The choppy trading comes as some traders look to get a head start on the long weekend.

Despite the lackluster performance by the broader markets, banking stocks are seeing considerable weakness after British bank Lloyds Banking Group (LYG) said its HBOS subsidiary lost about $12 billion on a pretax basis last year.

Real estate stocks are also under significant selling pressure, while gold, tobacco, and computer hardware stocks are also posting notable losses. Sun Microsystems (JAVA) is leading the hardware sector lower after Goldman Sachs added the stock to its conviction sell list.

On the other hand, substantial strength has emerged in the defense sector, with GenCorp (GY) posting a standout gain despite reporting a fourth quarter loss versus a year ago profit. Telecom, healthcare, and railroad stocks are also posting strong gains.

The major averages have moved back to the downside in recent trading, slipping back into negative territory. The Dow is currently down 41.89 at 7,890.87, the Nasdaq is down 3.45 at 1,538.26 and the S&P 500 is down 4.36 at 830.83.

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Posted in Categories: Economy, Releases, UK, USA.

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