Dow Closes Higher, Breaking Six-Session Losing Streak

(RTTNews) - After trending lower in recent sessions, stocks showed a strong move back to the upside during trading on Thursday. Traders largely shrugged off a more than three-hour halt of trading on the Nasdaq, holding on to strong gains.

With upbeat Chinese manufacturing data generating optimism about the outlook for steel demand, steel stocks saw significant strength. The NYSE Arca Steel Index surged up by 2.7 percent after trending lower over the past few sessions.

Mechel (MTL) and Cliffs Natural Resources (CLF) turned in two of the steel sector's best performances, advancing by 7.3 percent and 5.8 percent, respectively.

Transportation stocks also turned in a strong performance on the day, resulting in a 2 percent gain by the Dow Jones Transportation Average. Matson (MATX), Con-way (CNW), and Delta Air Lines (DAL) posted notable gains.

Commodities-related stocks also saw considerable strength on the news out of China, with natural gas, gold, and oil service stocks showing strong moves to the upside.

Banking, housing, and software stocks also saw significant strength on the day, reflecting broad based buying interest on Wall Street.

The major averages all ended the day firmly positive, although the Dow underperformed its counterparts. The Dow rose 66.19 points or 0.4 percent to 14,963.74, while the Nasdaq jumped 38.92 points or 1.1 percent to 3,638.71 and the S&P 500 advanced 14.16 points or 0.9 percent to 1,656.96.