Major Averages Climb To New Highs For The Session

(RTTNews) - Stocks initially did not show much follow-through on their early rally, but additional buying interest has emerged in recent trading. The strong gains on the day have lifted the major averages further off the multi-month closing lows set on Wednesday.

Airline stocks continue to see substantial strength in mid-day trading, resulting in a 3.1 percent jump by the NYSE Arca Airline Index. With the gain, the index is climbing further off the eight-month closing low set on Wednesday.

Alaska Air Group (ALK) and Delta Air Lines (DAL) are turning in two of the sector's best performances, climbing by 5.6 percent and 4.2 percent, respectively.

Considerable strength has also emerged among pharmaceutical stocks, as reflected by the 2.2 percent gain being posted by the NYSE Arca Pharmaceutical Index. Sanofi (SNY) and Novo Nordisk (NVO) are posting standout gains.

Semiconductor stocks are also turning in a strong performance after coming under pressure in the previous session. The Philadelphia Oil Service Index is up by 1.6 percent, bouncing off its worst closing level in nearly eight months.

Tobacco, biotechnology, steel, and retail stocks are also seeing notable strength, reflecting broad based buying interest on Wall Street.

The major averages have seen some further upside in the past few minutes, reaching new highs for the session. The Dow is up 228.16 points or 1.3 percent at 17,776.78, the Nasdaq is up 74.81 points or 1.5 percent at 4,997.21 and the S&P 500 is up 26.86 points or 1.3 percent at 2,078.17.