Major Averages Hovering Firmly In Positive Territory

(RTTNews) - After moving mostly higher earlier in the session, stocks continue to turn in a strong performance in mid-day trading on Tuesday. With the strength on the day, the major averages are adding to the gains posted in the two previous sessions.

Biotechnology stocks continue to see considerable strength in mid-day trading, with the NYSE Arca Biotechnology Index up by 1.7 percent. Despite the gain, the index remains well off the record highs set last month.

Exact Sciences (EXAS), Alexion (ALXN), and BioMarin (BMRN) are turning in some of the biotech sector's best performances on the day.

Significant strength has also emerged among oil service stocks, as reflected by the 1.4 percent gain being posted by the Philadelphia Oil Service Index. The strength in the sector comes as crude oil for May delivery is climbing $1.03 to $53.17 a barrel.

Natural gas, steel, tobacco and railroad stocks have also moved notably higher on the day, while commercial real estate and gold stocks have come under pressure.

In recent trading, the major averages have moved roughly sideways, hovering firmly in positive territory. The Dow is up 85.89 points or 0.5 percent at 17,966.74, the Nasdaq is up 24.50 points or 0.5 percent at 4,941.82 and the S&P 500 is up 6.69 points or 0.3 percent at 2,087.31.