Major Averages Remain Firmly Positive In Mid-Day Trading

(RTTNews) - After moving sharply higher early in the session, stocks continue to turn in a strong performance in mid-day trading on Tuesday. The strong gains on the day have partly offset the sharp pullback that was seen last week.

Semiconductor stocks continue to see substantial strength in mid-day trading, with the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index jumping by 3.2 percent. With the gain, the index has reached its best intraday level in about three weeks.

Microchip Technology (MCHP) has helped to lead the semiconductor sector higher after raising its second quarter earnings and sales guidance.

Considerable strength also remains visible among steel stocks, as reflected by the 2.7 percent gain being posted by the NYSE Arca Steel Index. Brazil's CSN (SID) is posting a standout gain.

Most of the other major sectors have also moved to the upside on the day, reflecting broad based buying interest on Wall Street.

Railroad, computer hardware, and gold stocks are seeing notable strength, with gold stocks moving higher along with the price of the precious metal.

The major averages have moved roughly sideways in recent trading, hovering firmly in positive territory. The Dow is up 245.19 points or 1.5 percent at 16,347.57, the Nasdaq is up 80.28 points or 1.7 percent at 4,764.20 and the S&P 500 is up 27.68 points or 1.4 percent at 1,948.90.