Stocks Mostly Positive In Mid-Day Trading, Nasdaq Outperforms - U.S. Commentary

(RTTNews) - With traders reacting positively to earnings news from some big-name tech companies, stocks have moved mostly higher during trading on Friday. As a result of the gains on the day, the tech-heavy Nasdaq is on pace to set a new record closing high.

Currently, the major averages are all in positive territory, although he Nasdaq is outperforming its counterparts by a wide margin. While the Nasdaq is up 38.51 points or 0.8 percent at 5,094.57, the Dow is up 16.17 points or 0.1 percent at 18,074.86 and the S&P 500 is up 5.28 points or 0.3 percent at 2,118.21.

The strong gain being posted by the Nasdaq is partly due to a rally by shares of Microsoft (MSFT), with the software giant surging up by 7.3 percent.

The gain by Microsoft comes after the company reported better than expected third quarter results after the close of trading on Thursday.

Online retail giant Amazon (AMZN) is also moving sharply higher after reporting first quarter results that exceeded estimates and providing upbeat guidance for the second quarter.

Even shares of Google (GOOG) have moved to the upside despite the tech giant reporting first quarter adjusted earnings and revenues that missed estimates.

Nonetheless, overall trading activity is somewhat subdued on the day as traders look ahead to next week's Federal Reserve meeting.

The Fed is not expected to announce an increase in interest rates, but traders will be paying close attention for any hints at a rate hike at the June meeting.

On the economic front, the Commerce Department released a report showing a sharp increase in durable goods orders, although the jump was primarily due to strength in the volatile transportation sector.

The report said durable goods orders surged up by 4.0 percent in March after slumping by 1.4 percent in February. Economists had expected orders to edge up by just 0.5 percent.

However, excluding a 13.5 percent jump in orders for transportation equipment, durable goods orders actually fell by 0.2 percent in March compared to a 1.3 percent drop in the previous month.

Sector News

Software stocks are seeing substantial strength in mid-day trading, with Microsoft leading the sector higher. Reflecting the strength in the sector, the Dow Jones Software Index has surged up by 3.6 percent on the day.

The strong upward move has software index on pace to end the trading session at its best closing level in well over fourteen years.

Considerable strength has also emerged among airline stocks, as reflected by the 1.9 percent gain being posted by the NYSE Arca Airline Index. With the gain, the index has reached a one-month intraday high.

Hawaiian Airlines parent Hawaiian Holdings (HA) is posting a standout gain after reporting better than expected first quarter results.

Internet, steel, and utilities stocks are also seeing significant strength on the day, with Juniper Networks (JNPR) posting a strong gain within the internet sector after beating first quarter estimates.

On the other hand, semiconductor stocks are extending the pullback seen in the previous session, dragging the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index down by 1.7 percent. Maxim (MXIM) is under pressure after providing disappointing guidance.

Oil service, computer hardware, and gold stocks are also moving notably lower, helping to limit the upside for the markets.

Other Markets

In overseas trading, stock markets across the Asia-Pacific region turned in yet another mixed performance on Friday. Japan's Nikkei 225 Index dropped by 0.8 percent, while Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index advanced by 0.8 percent.

Meanwhile, the major European markets all moved to the upside on the day. While the German DAX Index climbed by 0.7 percent, the French CAC 40 Index rose by 0.4 percent and the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index edged up by 0.2 percent.

In the bond market, treasuries are extending the upward move seen in the previous session. As a result, the yield in the benchmark ten-year note, which moves opposite of its price, is down by 3.1 basis points at 1.916 percent.