Tech Stocks Helping Lead Significant Rebound On Wall Street

(RTTNews) - Stocks have moved sharply higher in morning trading on Thursday, regaining ground following the steep drop seen in the previous session. The major averages have all moved to the upside, with the tech-heavy Nasdaq leading the rebound.

Currently, the major averages are just off their highs of the session. The Nasdaq is up 225.02 points or 2.2 percent at 10,438.31, the S&P 500 is up 59.51 points or 1.6 percent at 3,842.73 and the Dow is up 324.84 points or 1.0 percent at 33,200.55.

The rally on Wall Street partly reflects bargain hunting, with traders pick up stocks at reduced levels following the sell-off seen on Wednesday.

The Nasdaq is showing a particularly strong upward move after ending the previous session at its lowest closing level in over two years.

Overall trading activity remains below average, however, as many traders are still away from their desks due to the holidays.

Following the long Christmas weekend, the markets are set for another break this weekend due to New Year's Day.

In U.S. economic news, the Labor Department released a report showing first-time claims for U.S. unemployment benefits rose by slightly more than expected in the week ended December 24th.

The report said initial jobless claims crept up to 225,000, an increase of 9,000 from the previous week's unrevised level of 216,000. Economists had expected jobless claims to inch up to 222,000.

Meanwhile, the Labor Department said the less volatile four-week moving average edged down to 221,000, a decrease of 250 from the previous week's revised average of 221,250.

Semiconductor stocks have shown a substantial rebound in morning trading, with the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index spiking by 3.4 percent after ending the previous session at its lowest closing level in well over a month.

Computer hardware, networking and semiconductor stocks are also seeing considerable strength on the day, contributing to the surge by the tech-heavy Nasdaq.

Significant strength has also emerged among airline stocks, as reflected by the 1.9 percent jump by the NYSE Arca Airline Index. The index is bouncing off a three-month closing low.

Oil service, biotechnology and telecom stocks are also seeing notable strength, moving higher along with most of the other major sectors.

In overseas trading, stock markets across the Asia-Pacific region moved mostly lower during trading on Thursday. Japan's Nikkei 225 Index slumped by 0.9 percent, while China's Shanghai Composite Index fell by 0.4 percent.

Meanwhile, the major European markets have moved to the downside on the day. While the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index has edged up by 0.2 percent, the French CAC 40 Index is up by 0.9 percent and the German DAX Index is up by 1.0 percent.

In the bond market, treasuries are regaining ground after trending lower in recent sessions. As a result, the yield on the benchmark ten-year note, which moves opposite of its price, is down by 2.7 basis points at 3.860 percent.