Stocks Move Mostly Higher In Morning Trading - U.S. Commentary

(RTTNews) - Stocks have moved mostly higher on the first trading day of the new year, adding to the strong gains posted in 2017. The major averages have all moved to the upside, with the tech-heavy Nasdaq showing a particularly strong upward move.

Currently, the Nasdaq is up 75.41 points or 1.1 percent at 6,978.79, the S&P 500 is up 16.95 points or 0.6 percent at 2,690.56 and the Dow is up 69.33 points or 0.3 percent at 24,788.55.

The strength on Wall Street comes as traders are expressing optimism about the outlook for the markets and the economy going into the new year.

Trading activity is somewhat subdued, however, with a lack of major U.S. economic data keeping some traders on the sidelines.

The economic calendar for the week starts off relatively quiet, although the closely watched monthly jobs report is likely to attract considerable attention on Friday.

In the coming days, traders are also likely to keep an eye on reports on manufacturing and service sector activity, construction spending, private sector employment, international trade, and factory orders.

The Federal Reserve is also scheduled to release the minutes of its latest monetary policy meeting on Wednesday, potentially shedding light on the outlook for interest rates in the new year.

Steel stocks have shown a significant move to the upside in morning trading, driving the NYSE Arca Steel Index up by 2.8 percent. With the gain, the index has reached its best intraday level in over three years.

The rally by steel stocks comes as upbeat manufacturing data out of China has generated optimism about the outlook for global steel demand.

Natural gas, gold, electronic storage and semiconductor stocks are also seeing considerable strength, moving higher along with most of the other major sectors.

In overseas trading, stock markets across the Asia-Pacific region moved mostly higher during trading on Tuesday. China's Shanghai Composite Index shot up by 1.3 percent, while Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index spiked by 2 percent. The Japanese markets remained closed on the day.

Meanwhile, the major European markets have moved to the downside on the day. While the German DAX Index is just below the unchanged line, the French CAC 40 Index is down by 0.4 percent and the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index is down by 0.5 percent.

In the bond market, treasuries have come under pressure amid the strength on Wall Street. Subsequently, the yield on the benchmark ten-year note, which moves opposite of its price, is up by 4.4 basis points at 2.449 percent.