Stocks Close Mostly Higher But Off Best Levels Of The Day - U.S. Commentary

(RTTNews) - While buying interest faded late in the session, stocks managed to finish Tuesday's trading day mostly higher. The moderate gains on the day extended the rally that was seen over the course of the previous session.

The major averages ended the session well off their best levels of the day but still in positive territory. The Dow climbed 89.39 points or 0.5 percent to 17,918.15, the Nasdaq rose 17.98 points or 0.4 percent to 5,145.13 and the S&P 500 edged up 5.74 points or 0.3 percent to 2,109.79.

The strength on Wall Street partly reflected the upward momentum seen for the markets over the past several weeks.

The gains have lifted the Dow into positive territory for the year, with the blue chip index reaching its best levels in over three months. The Nasdaq and the S&P 500 also set three-month closing highs.

Meanwhile, traders largely shrugged off a report from the Commerce Department showing that factory orders saw further downside in the month of September.

The Commerce Department said factory orders fell by 1.0 percent in September after tumbling by a revised 2.1 percent in August.

Economists had expected orders to drop by 0.9 percent compared to the 1.7 percent decrease originally reported for the previous month.

Among individual stocks, shares of King Digital (KING) moved sharply higher after the online game maker agreed to be acquired by Activision Blizzard (ATVI) for $5.9 billion in cash.

Fertilizer producer Mosaic (MOS) also posted a standout gain after reporting better than expected third quarter earnings.

On the other hand, shares of Archer Daniels Midland (ADM) came under pressure after the agribusiness giant reported third quarter earnings that came in below analyst estimates.

Sector News

Energy stocks saw substantial strength on the day, moving higher along with the price of crude oil. Crude for December delivery surged up $1.76 to $47.90 a barrel amid concerns about production disruptions in Brazil and Libya.

Reflecting the strength in the energy sector, the Philadelphia Oil Service Index shot up by 3.1 percent and the NYSE Arca Oil & Gas Index jumped by 2.7 percent.

Significant strength was also visible among computer hardware stocks, as reflected by the 1.8 percent gain posted by the NYSE Arca Computer Hardware Index. Cray (CRAY) and Seagate Technology (STX) posted notable gains.

Steel, airline, and chemical stocks also saw considerable strength on the day, while tobacco and telecom stocks moved to the downside.

Other Markets

In overseas trading, stock markets across the Asia-Pacific region moved mostly higher during trading on Tuesday. Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index advanced by 0.9 percent, while Australia's All Ordinaries Index jumped by 1.3 percent. The Japanese markets were closed for a holiday.

The major European markets also ended the day on the upside. While the German DAX Index closed just above the unchanged line, the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index and the French CAC 40 Index rose by 0.3 percent and 0.4 percent, respectively.

In the bond market, treasuries moved lower on the session, extending a recent downtrend. As a result, the yield on the benchmark ten-year note, which moves opposite of its price, climbed 3.3 basis points to 2.220 percent.

Looking Ahead

Trading on Wednesday may be impacted by reaction to reports on private sector employment, international trade and service sector activity.

Federal Reserve Chairman Janet Yellen is also scheduled to testify before the House Financial Services Committee on regulatory issues.