Major Averages Hovering Firmly In Positive Territory In Mid-Day Trading

(RTTNews) - After showing a strong move to the upside early in the session, stocks have continued to perform well over the course of the trading day on Thursday. The gains have lifted the major averages toward the high of the ranges seen thus far this year.

A notable rebound by the price of crude oil has contributed to the strength on Wall Street, with crude regaining some ground following the sharp pullback seen on Wednesday.

Crude for March delivery is currently jumping $3.28 to $51.73 a barrel after plunging $4.60 to $48.45 a barrel in the previous session.

Rebounding along with the price of crude oil, oil service stocks have shown a strong move to the upside on the day. The Philadelphia Oil Service Index has surged up by 2.9 percent, nearly offsetting the 3 percent loss posted on Wednesday.

Weatherford International (WFT) is turning in one of the oil service sector's best performances after announcing plans to cut up to 8,000 jobs.

Other energy stocks are also moving notably higher on the day, with the NYSE Arca Natural Gas Index jumping by 2.5 percent and the NYSE Arca Oil & Gas Index climbing by 1.6 percent.

Considerable strength has also emerged among chemical stocks, as reflected by the 2 percent gain being posted by the Dow Jones Chemicals Index. With the gain, the index has risen to a two-month high.

Steel, telecom, networking, and brokerage stocks are also seeing significant strength, moving higher along with most of the other major sectors.

Meanwhile, airline stocks are bucking the uptrend on the day, dragging the NYSE Arca Airline Index down by 1.5 percent.

The major averages have moved roughly sideways in recent trading, hovering near their best levels of the day. The Dow is up 154.98 points or 0.9 percent at 17,828.00, the Nasdaq is up 31.61 points or 0.7 percent at 4,748.31 and the S&P 500 is up 16.37 points or 0.8 percent at 2,057.88.