WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - Stocks have shown a lack of direction over the course
of the trading day on Wednesday, extending the lackluster performance seen in
the previous session. The major averages have been bouncing back and forth
across the unchanged line after failing to sustain an early upward move.

Currently, the major averages are posting modest losses. The Dow is down 44.68
points or 0.1 percent at 37,754.29, the Nasdaq is down 46.31 points or 0.3
percent at 15,818.94 and the S&P 500 is down 6.52 points or 0.1 percent at
5,044.89.

The early strength on Wall Street came as traders once again looked to pick up
stocks at relatively reduced levels following recent weakness in the markets.

While the Dow managed to snap a six-day losing streak on Tuesday, the Nasdaq and
the S&P 500 closed lower for the third straight session, falling to their lowest
closing levels in almost two months.

However, the bargain hunting efforts were once again thwarted by ongoing
concerns the Federal Reserve will hold off on cutting interest rates until later
in the year.

A lack of major U.S. economic data may also be keeping some traders on the
sidelines, although the Fed's Beige Book may attract some attention later in the
day.

Among individual stocks, shares of Travelers (TRV) have come under pressure
after the insurance giant reported weaker than expected first quarter results.

Transportation and logistics company J.B. Hunt (JBHT) is also seeing significant
weakness after reporting first quarter results that missed analyst estimates.

On the other hand, shares of United Airlines (UAL) are moving sharply higher
after the airline reported a much narrower than expected first quarter loss.

Sector News

Most of the major sectors are showing only modest moves on the day, contributing
to the lackluster performance by the broader markets.

Airline stocks are seeing substantial strength following United's upbeat
results, however, with the NYSE Arca Airline Index soaring by 2.9 percent after
ending Tuesday's session at a two-month closing low.

Significant strength is also visible among gold stocks, as reflected by the 2.1
percent jump by the NYSE Arca Gold Bugs Index. The strength in the sector comes
despite a modest decrease by the price of gold.

Meanwhile, semiconductor stocks are under pressure on news of disappointing
first quarter sales by Dutch chip equipment maker ASML, dragging the
Philadelphia Semiconductor Index down by 1.5 percent.

Other Markets

In overseas trading, stock markets across the Asia-Pacific region turned in a
mixed performance during trading on Wednesday. Japan's Nikkei 225 Index slumped
by 1.3 percent, while China's Shanghai Composite Index surged by 2.1 percent.

Meanwhile, the major European markets have all moved to the upside on the day.
While the French CAC 40 Index is up by 0.7 percent, the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index is
up by 0.4 percent and the German DAX Index is up by 0.1 percent.

In the bond market, treasuries are regaining ground after moving notably lower
over the two previous sessions. Subsequently, the yield on the benchmark
ten-year note, which moves opposite of its price, is down by 3.7 basis points at
4.622 percent.



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