Stocks Continue To See Significant Strength In Mid-Day Trading - U.S. Commentary

(RTTNews) - Stocks have moved notably higher over the course of the trading day on Friday, with the Dow and the S&P 500 more than offsetting yesterday's losses. The tech-heavy Nasdaq is adding to the modest gain it posted on Thursday to reach its best levels since early 2000.

Currently, the major averages are hovering near their best levels of the day. The Dow is up 193.61 points or 1.1 percent at 18,152.64, the Nasdaq is up 41.82 points or 0.8 percent at 5,034.20 and the S&P 500 is up 19.86 points or 1 percent at 2,109.13.

The strength on Wall Street is partly due to weakness in the value of the U.S. dollar, with the greenback sliding to $1.0776 versus the euro compared to yesterday's $1.0660.

The buck has also dipped to 120.40 yen compared to the 120.78 yen it fetched at the close of New York trading on Thursday.

The dollar is on pace for its biggest weekly drop since 2013 amid indications that the Federal Reserve plans to raise interest rates more slowly than previously anticipated.

In the Fed forecasts released on Wednesday, the central bank said the median projection for the mid-point of the fed funds target range at the end of 2015 is now 0.625 percent compared to 1.125 percent in December.

The drop by the value of the dollar has helped to drive commodities prices, leading to considerable strength among resource stocks.

Among individual stocks, shares of Nike (NKE) are moving notably higher after the athletic equipment giant reported better than expected third quarter earnings.

Chinese travel booking site Ctrip (CTRP) has also spiked higher after reporting better than expected fourth quarter results and providing upbeat revenue growth guidance for the first quarter.

On the other hand, shares of Tiffany (TIF) have moved to the downside after the luxury jeweler reported an unexpected drop in fourth quarter sales.

Sector News

While most of the major sectors have moved to the upside on the day, gold stocks are posting particularly strong gains in mid-day trading. Reflecting the strength in the gold sector, the NYSE Arca Gold Bugs Index has surged up by 3.8 percent.

The strong gains by gold stocks come amid a notable increase by the price of the precious metal, with gold for April delivery climbing $11.80 to $1,180.80 an ounce.

Considerable strength has also emerged among housing stocks, as reflected by the 2.5 percent gain being posted by the Philadelphia Housing Sector Index. With the gain, the index has reached its best intraday level in almost eight years.

KB Home (KBH) has helped to lead the housing sector higher, with the homebuilder soaring by 8.4 percent after reporting better than expected first quarter results.

Energy stocks also continue to turn in a strong performance amid an increase by the price of crude oil. Crude for May delivery is currently jumping $1.37 to $46.90 a barrel.

Notable strength is also visible among steel, computer hardware, and banking stocks, reflecting broad based buying interest.

Other Markets

In overseas trading, stock markets across the Asia-Pacific region turned in a mixed performance during trading on Friday. Japan's Nikkei 225 Index rose by 0.4 percent, while Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index fell by 0.4 percent.

Meanwhile, the major European markets have all moved to the upside on the day. While the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index has advanced by 0.7 percent, the French CAC 40 Index and the German DAX Index are jumping by 1.2 percent and 1.5 percent, respectively.

In the bond market, treasuries have rebounded after turning lower over the course of the previous session. Subsequently, the yield on the benchmark ten-year note, which moves opposite of its price, is down by 3.6 basis points at 1.941 percent.