Major Averages Hovering Firmly In Positive Territory

(RTTNews) - Stocks have moved mostly higher over the course of the trading session on Tuesday after initially showing a lack of direction. The upward move on the day reflects an extension of the rally seen in the previous session.

Biotechnology stocks continue to turn in some of the market's best performances in mid-day trading, driving the NYSE Arca Biotechnology Index up by 2 percent. Despite the gain, the index remains stuck in a recent trading range.

Novavax (NVAX) has helped to lead the biotech sector higher, with the biopharmaceutical company jumping by 8.8 percent.

Significant strength is also visible among computer hardware stocks, as reflected by the 1.9 percent gain being posted by the NYSE Arca Computer Hardware Index. Lexmark (LXK) is posting a standout gain.

Retail, airline, and housing stocks are also seeing considerable strength, while gold stocks are bucking the uptrend amid a decrease by the price of the precious metal.

The major averages have moved roughly sideways in recent trading, hovering near their best levels of the day. The Dow is up 98.78 points or 0.6 percent at 17,581.79, the Nasdaq is up 34.23 points or 0.7 percent at 5,018.85 and the S&P 500 is up 11.57 points or 0.6 percent at 2,064.76.