Major Averages Seeing Further Upside In Mid-Day Trading

(RTTNews) - Stocks have moved mostly higher over the course of the trading day on Wednesday after recovering from an early move to the downside. The major averages have bounced well off their early lows and climbed firmly into positive territory.

Gold stocks have shown a substantial move to the upside on the day, driving the NYSE Arca Gold Bugs Index up by 2 percent. Despite the strong gain, the index remains stuck in a recent trading range.

The strength among gold stocks comes amid a sharp increase by the price of the precious metal, with gold for December delivery jumping $24.10 to $1,309.40 an ounce.

Considerable strength has also emerged among brokerage stocks, as reflected by the 1.3 percent gain being posted by the NYSE Arca Broker/Dealer Index. FXCM Inc. (FXCM) and E*Trade (ETFC) are posting strong gains in mid-day trading.

Tobacco, networking, and energy stocks are also seeing notable strength on the day, while some weakness remains visible among telecom and utilities stocks.

In recent trading, the major averages have seen some further upside, reaching new highs for the session. The Dow is up 52.79 points or 0.3 percent at 16,482.26, the Nasdaq is up 23.69 points or 0.5 percent at 4,376.53 and the S&P 500 is up 6.49 points or 0.3 percent at 1,926.70.