Stocks Remain Mostly Positive As Fed Minutes Loom - U.S. Commentary

(RTTNews) - Stocks have moved mostly higher over the course of the trading day on Wednesday after recovering from an initial move to the downside. With the turnaround on the day, the major averages are partly offsetting the steep losses posted in the previous session.

Currently, the major averages are in positive territory but off their best levels of the day. While the tech-heavy Nasdaq is up 29.91 points or 0.6 percent at 4,745.64, the Dow is up 9.99 points or 0.1 percent at 17,539.97 and the S&P 500 is up 3.79 points or 0.2 percent at 2,051.00.

The strength that has emerged on Wall Street may partly be due to bargain hunting following the sharp pullback seen yesterday.

With the sell-off on Tuesday, the Dow fell to its lowest closing level in well over a month and the Nasdaq hit a two-month closing low.

Nonetheless, traders seem somewhat reluctant to make significant moves ahead of the release of the minutes of the Federal Reserve's April monetary policy meeting this afternoon.

The minutes may provide some insight into the thinking of Fed officials and whether the central bank plans to raise interest rates at its June meeting.

Concerns about a rate hike next month were raised by yesterday's upbeat housing and industrial production data as well as a report showing a bigger than expected increase in consumer prices

Among individual stocks, shares of Andersons (ANDE) have moved sharply higher after the diversified agribusiness rejected an unsolicited takeover offer from HC2 Holdings valuing the company at $1 billion.

Home improvement retailer Lowe's (LOW) has also moved notably higher after reporting better than expected first quarter results.

On the other hand, shares of Target (TGT) have come under pressure after the retailer reported better than expected first quarter earnings but on disappointing same-store sales.

Sector News

Financial stocks have shown a strong move to the upside on the day, with the Dow Jones Banks Index and the NYSE Arca Broker/Dealer Index jumping by 2.8 percent and 2.5 percent, respectively.

Within the financial sector, JPMorgan Chase (JPM) is posting a notable gain after raising its quarterly dividend to 48 cents per share from 44 cents per share.

Considerable strength is also visible among electronic storage stocks, as reflected by the 2.3 percent gain being posted by the NYSE Arca Disk Drive Index. The index is moving higher for the fourth straight session after hitting a seven-year closing low last Thursday.

Semiconductor stocks are also seeing significant strength in mid-day trading, resulting in a 2 percent gain by the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index. Micron (MU) is posting a standout gain.

Biotechnology, railroad, and networking stocks have also moved notably higher on the day, while oil service and tobacco stocks are bucking the uptrend.

Other Markets

In overseas trading, stock markets across the Asia-Pacific region moved mostly lower on Wednesday. Japan's Nikkei 225 Index edged down by 0.1 percent, while China's Shanghai Composite Index and Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index slumped by 1.3 percent and 1.5 percent, respectively.

Meanwhile, European stocks closed mostly higher following a choppy trading session. The French CAC 40 Index and the German DAX Index both advanced by 0.5 percent, although the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index closed just below the unchanged line.

In the bond market, treasuries have moved notably lower after ending the previous session roughly flat. As a result, the yield on the benchmark ten-year note, which moves opposite of its price, is up by 5.8 basis points at 1.817 percent.