Stocks Move Modestly Higher In Early Trading - U.S. Commentary

(RTTNews) - Stocks have moved modestly higher in early trading on Friday, although buying interest has remained relatively subdued. The Dow and the S&P 500 have climbed into positive territory, but the Nasdaq is lingering near the unchanged line.

Currently, the Dow is up 47.17 points or 0.3 percent at 17,455.42 and the S&P 500 is up 3.80 points or 0.2 percent at 2,087.19. The Nasdaq is down just 0.22 points at 5,033.34.

The early strength on Wall Street partly reflects a positive reaction to some key U.S. economic data, including a report from the Federal Reserve showing a bigger than expected increase in industrial production.

The report said industrial production climbed by 0.6 percent in July after inching up by 0.1 percent in June. Economists had expected production to increase by about 0.4 percent.

The bigger than expected increase in production reflected a rebound in manufacturing output, which the Fed attributed to an increase in production of motor vehicle assemblies.

Chris Low, chief economist at FTN Financial, said, "Consumers are still spending money, carrying manufacturing through a difficult environment marked by sluggish exports and cautious business investment."

"This report is likely to be welcomed by the Fed point as further evidence of a manufacturing recovery from the blow dealt by last year's sharp rise in the dollar," he added.

A separate report from the Labor Department showed that producer prices rose by slightly more than expected in July amid a notable increase in service prices.

Traders seem somewhat reluctant to make significant moves, however, with uncertainty about the situations in China and Greece weighing on their minds.

Most of the major sectors are showing only modest moves in early trading, although considerable strength has emerged among gold stocks. The NYSE Arca Gold Bugs Index is up by 1.9 percent amid an increase by the price of gold.

Steel, tobacco, and telecom stocks are also seeing some early strength, while biotechnology stocks have shown a notable move to the downside.

In overseas trading, stock markets across the Asia-Pacific region turned in a mixed performance during trading on Friday. Japan's Nikkei 225 Index fell by 0.4 percent, while China's Shanghai Composite Index rose by 0.3 percent.

Meanwhile, the major European markets have all moved to the downside on the day. While the French CAC 40 Index has fallen by 0.8 percent, the German DAX Index and the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index are down by 0.3 percent and 0.2 percent, respectively.

In the bond market, treasuries are moving modestly lower, pulling back further off their recent highs. As a result, the yield on the benchmark ten-year note, which moves opposite of its price, is up by 1.8 basis points at 2.207 percent.