Major Averages Posting Moderate Gains In Early Trading

(RTTNews) - After moving sharply lower over the course of the previous session, stocks are mostly higher in early trading on Tuesday. The major averages have all moved to the upside but have only partly offset yesterday's substantial losses.

The early strength on Wall Street is partly due to bargain hunting following the sell-off seen on Monday, which extended a recent downward trend for the markets.

With the steep losses on the day, the Dow and the S&P 500 fell to their lowest levels in over three months, while the Nasdaq set a two-month closing low.

Natural gas stocks are moving significantly higher in early trading, with the NYSE Arca Natural Gas Index jumping by 2 percent. The strength in the sector comes amid a notable increase by the price of natural gas.

Networking, railroad and oil service stocks are also seeing early 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 are holding on to moderate gains. The Dow is up 46.95 points or 0.3 percent at 15,419.75, the Nasdaq is up 25.35 points or 0.6 percent at 4,022.30 and the S&P 500 is up 8.98 points or 0.5 percent at 1,750.87.