Stocks Struggle for Direction

Stocks are struggling for direction in mid-day trading today following Tuesday’s huge rally that saw all three major indexes rise sharply.

At last check, the Dow Jones was trading 0.08% higher at 13,187.59, the S&P 500 was trading 0.12% lower at 1,394.34, and the Nasdaq was trading 0.06% lower at 3,038.05.

Basic Materials stocks are leading the losses in the S&P 500 today. At last check, Basic Materials stocks were trading 1.33% lower. Energy stocks are also down sharply in mid-day trading. At last check, Energy stocks were trading 0.80% lower. Transportation stocks are currently trading 0.93% lower. Conglomerates have been the best performers in the S&P 500 today. At last check, Conglomerates were trading 0.22% higher. Technology stocks are currently trading 0.14% higher.

Among the major gainers and losers in mid-day trading are SciClone Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ: SCLN), which is currently trading 24.81% higher at $6.84, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (NYSE: GS), which is currently trading 3.01% lower at $120.79, Zions Bancorporation (NASDAQ: ZION), which is currently trading 7.50% higher at $21, McEwen Mining Inc. (NYSE: MUX), which is currently trading 6.83% lower at $4.30, JP Morgan Chase & Co. (NYSE: JPM), which is currently trading 0.35% higher at $43.54, Cheniere Energy Inc. (AMEX: LNG), which is currently trading 6.18% lower at $15.02, and Bank of America Corporation (NYSE: BAC), which is currently trading 3.42% higher at $8.78.

On the economic front, a report released by the Commerce Department showed that import prices rose less than forecast in February as a decline in food prices offset a 1.8% gain petroleum costs. According to the Commerce Department, import prices rose 0.4% in the month of February. Meanwhile, the U.S. current account deficit reached a three-year high of $124.1 billion.

The Mortgage Bankers Association reported that demand for home loans saw a net decline of 2.4%.

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Post Written By: Ed Liston Ed Liston is a senior contributing editor at TheStockMarketWatch.com. An active market watcher and investor, Ed guides an independent team of experienced analysts and writes for multiple stock trader publications. He is widely quoted in various financial publications on the Internet. When Ed is not writing about stocks, investing in stocks, talking about stocks, or otherwise doing something stock related, he likes to go sailing and fishing in his yacht.