Stocks Move Mostly Higher Amid News Of Ukraine Ceasefire - U.S. Commentary

(RTTNews) - Stocks have moved mostly higher in early trading on Thursday after ending the previous session roughly flat. The major averages have all climbed into positive territory, with the tech-heavy Nasdaq reaching its best levels in almost fifteen years.

In recent trading, the major averages have pulled back off their highs for the young session, but they are holding on to gains. The Dow is up 53.42 points or 0.3 percent at 17,915.56, the Nasdaq is up 34.08 points or 0.7 percent at 4,835.26 and the S&P 500 is up 11.85 points or 0.6 percent at 2,080.38.

The early strength on Wall Street partly reflects a positive reaction to news of an impending ceasefire in eastern Ukraine.

Marathon peace talks involving the leaders of Russia, Ukraine, Germany and France resulted in a ceasefire agreement set to go into effect on February 15th.

The deal involves a withdrawal of heavy weapons from the front line, which Russian President Vladimir Putin called "extremely important."

Buying interest has also been generated in reaction to upbeat earnings news from Cisco (CSCO), with the networking giant soaring by 8.1 percent.

After the close of trading on Wednesday, Cisco reported better than expected second quarter results and announced an 11 percent increase in its quarterly dividend.

Meanwhile, traders largely seem to have shrugged off some disappointing U.S. economic data, including a Commerce Department report showing a bigger than expected drop in retail sales.

The report said retail sales fell by 0.8 percent in January after slumping by 0.9 percent in December. Economists had expected sales to drop by 0.5 percent.

The continued decrease in retail sales came as falling gasoline prices contributed to another steep drop in sales by gas stations.

With Cisco helping to lead the way higher, considerable strength has emerged among networking stocks. Reflecting the strength in the sector, the NYSE Arca Networking Index has surged up by 1.8 percent to its best intraday level in over a month.

Steel, tobacco, and banking stocks are also seeing significant strength, while most of the other major sectors are showing more modest moves to the upside.

In overseas trading, stock markets across the Asia-Pacific region turned in yet another mixed performance during trading on Thursday. Japan's Nikkei 225 Index surged up by 1.9 percent, while Australia's All Ordinaries Index fell by 0.4 percent.

Meanwhile, the major European markets have all moved to the upside on the day. While the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index has edged up by 0.2 percent, the French CAC 40 Index has jumped by 1.2 percent and the German DAX Index has surged up by 1.7 percent.

In the bond market, treasuries are turning in a lackluster performance after ending the previous session roughly flat. Subsequently, the yield on the benchmark ten-year note, which moves opposite of its price, is down by less than a basis point at 1.981 percent.