India, Oct. 23 -- After showing a lack of direction earlier in the session, stocks have moved mostly lower over the course of the trading day on Friday. The major averages have all slid into negative territory after moving higher over the two previous sessions.

The major averages have climbed off their worst levels in recent trading but currently remain in the red. The Dow is down 105.10 points or 0.4 percent at 28,258.56, the Nasdaq is down 52.57 points or 0.5 percent at 11,453.43 and the S&P 500 is down 4.33 points or 0.1 percent at 3,449.16.

The weakness that has emerged on Wall Street comes amid a lack of concrete news regarding a new coronavirus stimulus bill.

Traders have generally remained optimistic that a bill will eventually ...