(RTTNews) - Stocks are continuing to show a lack of direction during mid-afternoon trading on Thursday after failing to sustain an early upward move. The volatility comes as investors mull over some mixed economic and corporate news.

In an interview with RTT News, Jack Ablin, chief investment officer at Harris Private Bank, personified the current market as a “five year old,” stressing that market participants “are not that patient” and want to see “swift action and response” immediately.

Ablin said that progress from the government’s latest stimulus and rescue attempts is unlikely until the third or fourth quarter and said it is a waiting game until then.

He predicted that any “incremental progress.should surprise the market to the upside,” but suggested that breaking through the lows in the mean time is “entirely possible.”

In economic news, the Philadelphia Federal Reserve said its index of activity in the manufacturing sector fell to a negative 41.3 in February, its lowest reading since October of 1990. Economists expected the index to edge down to a negative 25.0.

Separately, a report from the Labor Department showed that initial jobless claims for the week ended February 14th came in at 627,000, unchanged from the revised figure for the previous week and moderately higher than the 620,000 that was expected by analysts.

Furthermore, producer prices increased by much more than expected in the month of January, according to a separate report released by the Labor Department, with the increase partly due to a modest rebound in energy prices.

On the corporate front, communication services provider Sprint Nextel (S) has moved sharply higher after reporting a smaller than expected fourth quarter loss and saying it expects that its total subscriber losses will improve in 2009.

In other news, the SEC announced that has halted another Ponzi scheme, with the latest scheme aimed at members of the deaf community in the U.S. and Japan. The SEC is charging Hawaii-based Billion Coupons and its CEO with raising $4.4 million and misappropriating at least $1.4 million of the fund.

The company allegedly secured the funds from some 125 investors since beginning in September 2007. The scheme was operated by holding investment seminars at deaf community centers.

The major averages are currently posting moderate losses, not far off their worst levels of the day. The Dow is currently down 57.03 at 7,498.60, the Nasdaq is down 13.72 at 1,454.25 and the S&P 500 is down 4.42 at 784.00.

Dow Components

While the Dow is only posting a modest loss on the day, several of the components of the blue chip index have come under considerable selling pressure.

One of the worst performances within the Dow is being shown by Hewlett-Packard Co. (HPQ), which is down 9.1 percent after the release of its quarterly results. With the decline, the stock has fallen to its lowest level in three months.

The company reported that its first quarter profit fell 13 percent from last year amid sharp revenue drops in its PC, printer and server businesses. HP also forecast second quarter earnings below analysts’ current consensus estimate and lowered its earnings outlook for fiscal year 2009.

Additionally, with banking stocks continuing to see considerable weakness, Citigroup (C) and Bank of America (BAC) are helping to keep the Dow below the unchanged line, posting losses of 10.7 percent and 10.1 percent, respectively.

American Express (AXP), Caterpillar (CAT), and Intel (INTC) are also posting noteworthy losses on the day, down 6.7 percent, 3.8 percent, and 3.3 percent, respectively.

At the other end of the spectrum, Home Depot (HD), Chevron (CVX), Coca-Cola (KO) are leading the advancing components, posting gains of about 2 percent

Sector News

While computer hardware stocks continue to lead the decline in the broader markets, substantial weakness is also being shown in the housing sector. The Philadelphia Housing Index is currently down 4.2 percent, falling to its lowest intraday level in just under three months.

Considerable weakness is also being shown by stocks in the banking and gold sectors. The KBW Bank Index is down 4.1 percent, while a decrease in the price of gold has helped to drive the Amex Gold Bugs Index down 2.7 percent.

The weakness in the gold sector is being exacerbated by a steep loss by Kinross Gold (KGC), which is down 6.3 percent after the company said that it swung to a huge fourth quarter loss, due mainly to a $1 billion goodwill impairment charge related to its 2007 acquisition of Bema Gold.

At the other end of the spectrum, continued strength in the price of crude oil has helped to keep the oil services sector at the top of the gainers list. The Philadelphia Oil Services Index is up 3.6 percent on the day, reflecting the strength in the sector.

Telecom, steel, and chemical stocks are also showing notable strength, with the Amex North American Telecommunications Index up 1.7 percent, while the Amex Steel Index and the S&P Chemical Index are up 1.5 percent and 1.3 percent, respectively.

Other Markets

In overseas trading, most stock markets across the Asia-Pacific region ended Thursday’s trading higher after trending lower in recent sessions. Japan’s benchmark Nikkei 225 Index closed up 0.3 percent, bouncing off a nearly four-month closing low.

Meanwhile, the major European markets ended the trading day mixed. While the French CAC 40 Index closed modestly lower, the U.K.’s FTSE 100 Index and the German DAX Index finished the session up 0.3 percent and 0.2 percent, respectively.

In the bond market, treasuries have come well off their intraday lows, but remain well below the unchanged line, driving the yield on the benchmark ten-year note up 8.9 basis points to 2.817 percent.

For comments and feedback: contact editorial@rttnews.com

Copyright(c) 2009 RealTimeTraders.com, Inc. All Rights Reserved

Posted in Categories: Economy, Eurozone, Japan, Releases, USA.

Subscribe by RSS Subscribe by Email  Email This Post To A Friend