Major Averages Holding On To Modest Gains In Mid-Day Trading

(RTTNews) - While buying interest has waned from earlier in the session, stocks remain mostly positive in mid-day trading on Thursday. The gains on the day are partly offsetting the notable pullback seen over the course of the two previous sessions.

Despite the strength being shown by the broader markets, most of the major sectors are showing only modest moves in mid-day trading.

Biotechnology stocks continue to see significant strength, however, with the NYSE Arca Biotechnology Index up by 2.3 percent. The index reached a record intraday high earlier in the session.

Pharmacyclics (PCYC) helped to lead the biotech sector higher, with biopharmaceutical company jumping by 10.5 percent after agreeing to be acquired by AbbVie (ABBV) for $21 billion.

Internet, utilities, and telecom stocks are also seeing some strength on the day, while weakness has emerged among natural gas and steel stocks.

Currently, the major averages are posting modest gains, off their highs for the session. The Dow is up 46.56 points or 0.3 percent at 18,143.46, the Nasdaq is up 18.31 points or 0.4 percent at 4,985.45 and the S&P 500 is up 3.57 points or 0.2 percent at 2,102.10.