Markets Teeter-Totter At Midday

Wall Street struggled to find direction Thursday morning as mixed reports from the economy and the corporate sector had the market wobbling.

With the holiday week fast-approaching, volumes were light and investors appeared to shy away from aggressive moves in the equity markets, but there was plenty of action in commodities, currencies and government debt.

The Labor Department kicked off the day, reporting that initial jobless claims inched down to 554,000 last week, from 575,000 the week before. Meanwhile, continuing claims edged back below 4.4 million. The decline was positive news, but the hits keep coming; health insurance outfit Aetna (nyse: AET - news - people ) said it will cut its workforce by 1,000 jobs. (See "December 2008 Layoffs.")

A closely-watched reading on manufacturing activity was not as bad as feared; the Philadelphia Fed index came in at negative 32.9 for December. The figure indicates regional activity in the sector slowed less than expected, following a negative 39.3 reading in November.

Major indexes were little changed by midday, as the Dow was down 10 points, or 0.1%, to 8,814; the S&P 500 was up 2 points, or 0.3%, to 907; and the Nasdaq gained 3 points, or 0.2%, to 1,582. There was more action in other markets during the seesaw session though.

Traders scoffed at Wednesday's production cut of 2.2 million barrels of oil a day by the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries, sending crude down $1.98, to $38.08 a barrel. United States Oil Fund (nyse: USO - news - people ), an exchange-traded vehicle that seeks to mirror the movement of crude and other products, lost $1.64, or 4.7%, to $33.17. (See "Russia Dashes OPEC's Hopes.")

Treasury yields and the dollar continued to soften, after the Federal Reserve slashed its benchmark fed funds rate effectively to zero on Tuesday. The 10-year note's yield was down to 2.10%, from 2.20% Wednesday. The iShares Lehman 10-20 Year Treasury Bond Fund (nyse: TLH - news - people ), which tracks longer maturities, was up $1.92, or 1.6%, to $123.80. The euro sustained recent strength early, trading over $1.44 Thursday morning, but shed its gain and fell back to $1.429 by midday. (See "Helicopter Ben Goes ZIRP!")