Stocks Remain Mostly Positive In Mid-Day Trading - U.S. Commentary

(RTTNews) - After moving higher in early trading, stocks remain mostly positive in mid-day trading on Friday. The gains on the day have lifted the Dow and the S&P 500 to new record closing highs.

The major averages have moved roughly sideways in recent trading, hovering in positive territory. The Dow is up 48.84 points or 0.3 percent at 18,079.05, the Nasdaq is up 29.43 points or 0.6 percent at 4,802.90 and the S&P 500 is up 8.88 points or 0.4 percent at 2,090.76.

The strength on Wall Street partly reflects the recent upward momentum for the markets, which has lifted the Dow above 18,000 for the first time ever.

Stocks have trended higher since last Wednesday, when the Federal Reserve said it would be patient in beginning to normalize the stance of monetary policy.

Traders seem to have interpreted the remark as an indication that the Fed will be cautious in its decision to begin raising interest rates.

Continued signs of strength in the economy have also contributed to the recent positive sentiment, as the U.S. continues to outperform many of the other major developed nations.

Paul Dales, Senior U.S. Economist at Capital Economics, said upbeat personal spending data released on Tuesday means consumption growth in the fourth quarter could be as strong as 4.0 percent.

"It is clear that real consumption is being boosted by the effects of lower gasoline prices and the acceleration in job growth," Dales said.

He added, "The upshot is that it is now possible that GDP growth in the fourth quarter will be even stronger than our current 3.0 percent forecast."

Gold stocks are turning in some of the market's best performances, driving the NYSE Arca Gold Bugs Index up by 3.1 percent. The strength in the sector comes as gold for February delivery is jumping $20.40 to $1,193.90 an ounce.

Significant strength is also visible among biotechnology stocks, as reflected by the 2.2 percent gain being posted by the NYSE Arca Biotechnology Index. Exact Sciences (EXAS) and Regeneron Pharmaceuticals (REGN) are posting notable gains.

Steel, utilities, and airline stocks are also seeing considerable strength, moving higher along with most of the other major sectors.

Nonetheless, trading activity has remained somewhat subdued, as many traders remain away from their desks following the Christmas Day holiday on Thursday.

In overseas trading, many of the major markets across the Asia-Pacific region were closed on the day, although China's Shanghai Composite Index surged up by 2.8 percent. Japan's Nikkei 225 Index also inched up by 0.1 percent.

Meanwhile, following the Christmas Day holiday on Thursday, the major European markets remained closed on Friday for Boxing Day.

In the bond market, treasuries are moving modestly higher 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 nearly a basis point at 2.255 percent.