Major Averages Climb Into Positive Territory In Early Trading

(RTTNews) - Stocks have moved mostly higher in early trading on Thursday after ending the previous session roughly flat. The major averages have all climbed into positive territory, with the tech-heavy Nasdaq reaching its best levels in almost fifteen years.

The early strength on Wall Street partly reflects a positive reaction to news of an impending ceasefire in eastern Ukraine.

Marathon peace talks involving the leaders of Russia, Ukraine, Germany and France resulted in a ceasefire agreement set to go into effect on February 15th.

Buying interest has also been generated in reaction to better than expected earnings news from Cisco (CSCO), with the networking giant soaring by 8.1 percent.

Meanwhile, traders largely seem to have shrugged off some disappointing U.S. economic data, including a Commerce Department report showing a bigger than expected drop in retail sales.

With Cisco helping to lead the way higher, considerable strength has emerged among networking stocks. Reflecting the strength in the sector, the NYSE Arca Networking Index has surged up by 1.8 percent to its best intraday level in over a month.

Steel, tobacco, and banking stocks are also seeing significant strength, while most of the other major sectors are showing more modest moves to the upside.

In recent trading, the major averages have pulled back off their highs for the young session, but they are holding on to gains. The Dow is up 53.42 points or 0.3 percent at 17,915.56, the Nasdaq is up 34.08 points or 0.7 percent at 4,835.26 and the S&P 500 is up 11.85 points or 0.6 percent at 2,080.38.