Eagle River, WI 10/13/2011 (PennyPayDay) – After moving sharply higher in recent sessions, stocks are giving back some ground in early trading on Thursday. The major averages have all moved to the downside, although selling pressure remains relatively subdued.Currently, the major averages are all in negative territory, just off their lows for the young session. The Dow is down 99.14 points or 0.9 percent at 11,419.71, the Nasdaq is down 10.30 points or 0.4 percent at 2,594.43 and the S&P 500 is down 12.02 points or 1 percent at 1,195.23.
The early weakness on Wall Street is partly due to a negative reaction to quarterly results from JP Morgan (JPM), with the financial services giant reporting a drop in its net income for the third quarter.
JP Morgan reported third quarter net income of $4.26 billion, down from $4.42 billion in the year-ago quarter, with the decrease reflecting a mortgage-related litigation charge and losses on credit valuation adjustments. Shares of JP Morgan are down by 5 percent on the news.
The negative reaction to JP Morgan's results is contributing to significant weakness among banking stocks, with the KBW Bank Index down by 3.8 percent. With the loss, the index is pulling back off the one-month closing high it set on Wednesday.
Resource stocks are also seeing early weakness, as disappointing Chinese trade data has led to renewed concerns about the outlook for global demand.
A report showed that the Chinese trade surplus shrank by more than expected in September, as export growth slowed to a seven-month low due in part to reduced demand from Europe.
Railroad, commercial real estate, and healthcare provider stocks have also come under pressure, moving to the downside along with most of the major sectors.
In U.S. economic news, the Labor Department released a report before the start of trading showing a slight drop in initial jobless claims in the week ended October 8th.
The report showed that jobless claims edged down to 404,000 from the previous week's revised figure of 405,000. Economists had expected jobless claims to increase to 405,000 from the 401,000 originally reported for the previous week.
A separate report from the Commerce Department showed that the U.S. trade deficit in August was virtually unchanged from the previous month.
The report showed a trade deficit of $45.61 billion in August compared to a revised deficit of $45.63 billion in July. Economists had expected the deficit to widen to $46.0 billion from the $44.8 billion originally reported for July.
In overseas trading, stock markets across the Asia-Pacific region moved mostly higher on Thursday, benefiting from the strength seen on Wall Street overnight. Japan's Nikkei 225 Index rose by 1 percent, while Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index jumped by 2.3 percent.
Meanwhile, the major European markets are moving to the downside after trending higher in recent sessions. The U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index is down by 1 percent, while the German DAX Index and the French CAC 40 Index are falling by 1.3 percent and 1.5 percent, respectively.
In the bond market, treasuries have shown a strong upward move after trending lower in recent sessions. Subsequently, the yield on the benchmark ten-year note, which moves opposite of its price, is down by 7.1 basis points at 2.155 percent.
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