Major Averages Climb Firmly Into Positive Territory In Early Trading

(RTTNews) - After turning mixed over the course of the two previous sessions, stocks have moved mostly higher in early trading on Thursday. The major averages have all moved to the upside, with the Dow and the S&P 500 reaching new record highs.

The early strength on Wall Street comes on the heels of a surprise European Central Bank decision to cut interest rates to record lows.

Following its monetary policy meeting, the ECB said it is lowering all three of its main interest rates by 10 basis points, reducing the benchmark rate to 0.05 percent.

ECB President Mario Draghi also said the bank plans to purchase asset-backed securities to boost the economy and combat the threat of deflation.

Traders are also digesting a slew of U.S. economic data, including a recently released report from the Instituted for Supply Management showing an unexpected acceleration in the pace of service sector growth in the month of August.

Railroad stocks have shown a strong move to the upside in early trading, driving the Dow Jones Railroads Index up by 1.4 percent. With the gain, the index has reached a new record intraday high.

Airline, internet, and retail stocks are also seeing notable strength, while most of the other major sectors are showing more modest moves.

The major averages have recently pulled back off their highs for the young session but remain firmly positive. The Dow is up 63.35 points or 0.4 percent at 17,141.63, the Nasdaq is up 29.19 points or 0.6 percent at 4,601.76 and the S&P 500 is up 8.63 points or 0.4 percent at 2,009.35.