Major Averages Remain Starkly Mixed In Afternoon Trading

The major U.S. stock indexes moved in opposite directions early in the session on Wednesday and continue to turn in a mixed performance in afternoon trading.

While the Dow is adding to the strong gain posted in the previous session, the tech-heavy Nasdaq is giving back ground. The S&P 500 has spent the day bouncing back and forth across the unchanged line.

Currently, the Nasdaq is down 92.38 points or 0.7 percent at 13,527.28, while the Dow is up 333.82 points or 1 percent at 35,245.02 and the S&P 500 is up 14.50 points or 0.3 percent at 4,476.71.

A steep drop by shares of Netflix (NFLX) is weighing on the Nasdaq, with the streaming giant plummeting by 35.3 percent to its lowest intraday level in four years.

The sell-off by Netflix comes after the company reported the loss of 200,000 subscribers during the first quarter, making the first decrease in subscribers in over a decade.

On the other hand, the continued advance by the Dow reflects strong gains by IBM Corp. (IBM) and Procter & Gamble (PG).

Shares of IBM are spiking by 7.4 percent after the tech giant reported first quarter results that exceeded analyst estimates on both the top and bottom lines.

Consumer products giant Procter & Gamble is also jumping by 2.5 percent after reporting better than expected first quarter results and raising its full-year sales guidance.

The mixed performance on Wall Street also comes as traders look ahead to the release of the Federal Reserve’s Beige Book later this afternoon.

The Beige Book, a compilation of anecdotal evidence on economic conditions in each of the twelve Fed districts, may provide additional clues about the outlook for monetary policy.

In U.S. economic news, the National Association of Realtors released a report showing existing home sales saw further downside in the month of March.

NAR said existing home sales slumped by 2.7 percent to an annual rate of 5.77 million in March after plunging by 8.6 percent to a downwardly revised rate of 5.93 million in February.

Economists had expected existing home sales to tumble by 3.7 percent to a rate of 5.80 million from the 6.02 million originally reported for the previous month.

With the continued decrease, existing home sales continued to give back ground after reaching their highest rate in a year in January.

Sector News

Transportation stocks are adding to the strong gains posted in the previous session, with the Dow Jones Transportation Average surging by 2.3 percent.

Significant strength has also emerged among housing stocks, as reflected by the 1.9 percent jump by the Philadelphia Housing Sector Index.

Commercial real estate stocks are also turning in a strong performance in afternoon trading, driving the Dow Jones U.S. Real Estate Index up by 1.8 percent.

Networking, computer hardware and healthcare stocks are also seeing notable strength on the day, while retail, steel and oil service stocks have moved to the downside.

Other Markets

In overseas trading, stock markets across the Asia-Pacific region turned in another mixed performance during trading on Wednesday. Japan’s Nikkei 225 Index advanced by 0.9 percent, while China’s Shanghai Composite Index slumped by 1.4 percent.

Meanwhile, the major European markets all moved to the upside on the day. While the U.K.’s FTSE 100 Index rose by 0.4 percent, the French CAC 40 Index and the German DAX Index jumped by 1.4 percent and 1.5 percent, respectively.

In the bond market, treasuries have climbed more firmly into positive territory over the course of the session. Subsequently, the yield on the benchmark ten-year note, which moves opposite of its price, is down by 8.7 basis points at 2.826 percent.

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