Major Averages Holding On To Moderate Gains In Mid-Day Trading

(RTTNews) - After moving sharply higher at the start of trading on Friday, stocks have given back some ground over the course of the session. The major averages have pulled back well off their highs for the session but remain in positive territory.

While many of the major sectors have pulled back off their best levels of the day, significant strength remains visible among steel stocks. The NYSE Arca Steel Index is up by 3.5 percent, climbing further off the one-year low set on Wednesday.

Cliffs Natural Resources (CLF), Allegheny Technologies (ATI) and Ryerson (RYI) are posting notable gains amid optimism about the outlook for Chinese demand.

Energy stocks are also holding on to strong gains even though the price of crude oil has pulled back well off its high for the session. After reaching a high of $77.83 a barrel, crude for January delivery is currently up $0.16 at $76.01 a barrel.

Chemical, housing, and tobacco stocks are also seeing continued strength in mid-day trading, while most of the other major sectors are showing more modest moves.

Currently, the major averages are holding on to moderate gains. The Dow is up 112.70 points or 0.6 percent at 17,831.70, the Nasdaq is up 19.43 points or 0.4 percent at 4,721.30 and the S&P 500 is up 11.54 points or 0.6 percent at 2,064.29.