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

(RTTNews) - Extending the recovery rally seen in the previous session, stocks are posting strong gains in mid-day trading on Thursday. The gains on the day are partly offsetting the sell-off that was seen over the past couple weeks.

Most of the major sectors are seeing significant strength on the day, although resource stocks have helped to lead the way higher.

Oil service stocks are posting particularly strong gains in mid-day trading, with the Philadelphia Oil Service Index jumping by 5.6 percent. The index is climbing further off the six-year closing low it set on Tuesday.

The rally by oil service stocks comes amid a sharp increase by the price of crude oil, as crude for October delivery is surging up $2.92 to $41.52 a barrel.

Outside of the resource sector, considerable strength is also visible among chemical stocks, as reflected by the 3.3 percent gain being posted by the Dow Jones Chemicals Index. Dow Chemical (DOW) has helped to lead the sector higher.

Semiconductor, electronic storage, and transportation stocks are also turning in standout performances, reflecting broad based buying interest.

Currently, the major averages remain firmly in positive territory. The Dow is up 273.45 points or 1.7 percent at 16,558.96, the Nasdaq is up 91.62 points or 2 percent at 4,789.16 and the S&P 500 is up 36.91 points or 1.9 percent at 1,977.42.