Stocks Move Mostly Higher, Adding To Recent Gains - U.S. Commentary

(RTTNews) - Extending a recent upward trend, stocks have moved mostly higher over the course of early trading on Monday. The tech-heavy Nasdaq has shown a notable move to the upside, climbing to its highest intraday levels of 2016.

Currently, the major averages are just off their highs for the session. The Dow is up 25.64 points or 0.1 percent at 18,542.19, the Nasdaq is up 29.08 points or 0.6 percent at 5,058.67 and the S&P 500 is up 5.24 points or 0.2 percent at 2,166.98.

The strength on Wall Street may be partly in reaction to upbeat earnings news from financial giant Bank of America (BAC), which reported its second quarter results before the start of trading.

Bank of America reported better than expected quarterly earnings and revenues, joining Citigroup (C) and JPMorgan Chase (JPM) in beating expectations.

The earnings season will continue to pick up steam as the week progresses, with a slew of big-name companies due to report their quarterly results.

IBM (IBM), Netflix (NFLX), and Yahoo! (YHOO) are among the companies scheduled to release their results after the close of today's trading.

Goldman Sachs (GS), Microsoft (MSFT), American Express (AXP), Intel (INTC), and General Electric (GE) are also among the companies due to report their quarterly results in the coming days.

Semiconductor stocks have moved significantly higher on the day, contributing to the advance by the Nasdaq. The Philadelphia Semiconductor Index has surged up by 1.6 percent to its best intraday level in over a year.

ARM Holdings (ARMH) is leading the semiconductor sector higher, soaring by 42.3 percent after agreeing to be acquired by Softbank for $32 billion in cash.

Considerable strength has also emerged among computer hardware stocks, as reflected by the 1.1 percent gain being posted by the NYSE Arca Computer Hardware Index. Seagate Technology (STX) and Logitech (LOGI) are posting standout gains.

Most of the other major sectors are showing only modest moves, although oil service stocks are seeing some weakness amid a decrease by the price of crude oil.

On the U.S. economic front, the National Association of Home Builders released a report showing an unexpected drop in homebuilder confidence in the month of July.

The report said the NAHB/Wells Fargo Housing Market Index edged down by a point to 59 in July after climbing by two points to 60 in June. Economists had expected the index to inch up to 61.

In overseas trading, stock markets across the Asia-Pacific region moved mostly higher on Monday, although the Japanese market was closed for a holiday. Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index advanced by 0.7 percent, while Australia's All Ordinaries Index rose by 0.5 percent.

Meanwhile, the major European markets are turning in a mixed performance on the day. While the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index has climbed by 0.6 percent, the German DAX Index is just below the unchanged line and the French CAC 40 Index is down by 0.4 percent.

In the bond market, treasuries have pulled back near the unchanged line after seeing early strength. As a result, the yield on the benchmark ten-year note, which moves opposite of its price, is down by less than basis point at 1.587 percent.