Major Averages Pulling Back Off Their Best Levels Of The Day

(RTTNews) - After moving notably higher earlier in the session, stocks are giving back some ground in mid-day trading on Wednesday. The major averages have pulled back well off their highs for the session, although the tech-heavy Nasdaq continues to post a substantial gain.

Technology stocks continue to see considerable strength in mid-day trading, as reflected by the strong gain being posted by the Nasdaq.

Within the tech sector, networking stocks are turning in a particularly strong performance, resulting in a 2.1 percent jump by the NYSE Arca Networking Index. The gain has lifted the index to its best intraday level in well over a month.

Internet stocks are also seeing notable strength, with Priceline (PCLN) leading the way higher after reporting better than expected second quarter results.

Gains by biotechnology, semiconductor, and electronic storage stocks are also helping to keep the Nasdaq firmly in positive territory, while many of the other major sectors have given back ground.

Currently, the Nasdaq is outperforming its counterparts by a wide margin. While the Nasdaq is up 55.03 points or 1.1 percent at 5,160.58, the Dow is up 35.31 points or 0.2 percent at 17,586.00 and the S&P 500 is up 11.26 points or 0.5 percent at 2,104.58.