Stocks Move Modestly Higher Amid Choppy Trading - U.S. Commentary

(RTTNews) - While buying interest has remained relatively subdued, stocks have moved modestly higher over the course of the trading day on Thursday. With the upward move, the major averages are adding to the gains posted in the two previous sessions.

Currently, the major averages are just off their highs for the session. The Dow is up 31.10 points or 0.2 percent at 17,747.76, the Nasdaq is up 17.54 points or 0.4 percent at 4,886.83 and the S&P 500 is up 3.33 points or 0.2 percent at 2,067.28.

The modest strength that has emerged on Wall Street partly reflects recent upward momentum for the markets, which has helped lift the major averages to their best levels in three months.

However, traders remain somewhat reluctant to make significant moves ahead of the release of the Labor Department's closely watched monthly jobs report on Friday.

The report is expected to show an increase of about 210,000 jobs in March after employment jumped by 242,000 jobs in February. The unemployment rate is expected to hold at 4.9 percent.

Jay Morelock, an economist at FTN Financial, said, "After Chair Yellen dampened expectations of a Fed move in April, all eyes turn to Friday's employment report to gauge whether the Fed will lean toward June or push the next rate hike into the second half of the year."

On the U.S. economic front, the Labor Department released a report before the start of trading showing a modest increase in initial jobless claims in the week ended March 26th.

The report said initial jobless claims climbed to 276,000, an increase of 11,000 from the previous week's unrevised level of 265,000. Economists had expected jobless claims to inch up to 266,000.

A separate report from MNI Indicators showed a stronger than expected rebound by Chicago-area business activity in the month of March.

Sector News

While many of the major sectors continue to show only modest moves, biotechnology stocks have shown a substantial move to the upside on the day, driving the NYSE Arca Biotechnology Index up by 3.9 percent.

Medivation (MDVN) is leading the biotech sector higher after Reuters reported the cancer drug maker has been working with JPMorgan (JPM) to handle potential takeover offers.

Significant strength has also emerged among electronic storage stocks, as reflected by the ___ percent gain being posted by the NYSE Arca Disk Drive Index. Nimble Storage (NMBL) and Datalink (DTLK) are posting standout gains.

Natural gas stocks are also seeing notable strength on the day, while railroad stocks are pulling back after moving notably higher over the two previous sessions.

Other Markets

In overseas trading, stock markets across the Asia-Pacific region turned in a mixed performance during trading on Thursday. Japan's Nikkei 225 Index slid by 0.7 percent, while Australia's All Ordinaries Index jumped by 1.4 percent.

Meanwhile, the major European markets all moved to the downside on the day. While the French CAC 40 Index has slumped by 1.3 percent, the German DAX Index dropped by 0.8 percent and the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index fell by 0.5 percent.

In the bond market, treasuries have moved modestly higher, offsetting the pullback seen in the previous session. As a result, the yield on the benchmark ten-year note, which moves opposite of its price, is down by 2.5 basis points at 1.805 percent.