Stocks Moving Mostly Higher In Mid-Day Trading - U.S. Commentary

(RTTNews) - After initially showing a lack of direction, stocks have moved mostly higher over the course of the trading day on Monday. Buying interest has remained somewhat subdued, however limiting the upside for the markets.

The major averages have recently pulled back off their highs for the session but remain in positive territory. The Dow is up 30.10 points or 0.2 percent at 17,604.03, the Nasdaq is up 13.91 points or 0.3 percent at 4,646.44 and the S&P 500 is up 4.77 points or 0.2 percent at 2,036.69.

The strength that has emerged on Wall Street is partly due to positive sentiment generated by data out of China, with a report from Chinese Customs showing stronger than expected export growth in the month of October.

The report said Chinese exports were up by 11.6 percent year-over-year in October, reflecting a slowdown from the 15.3 percent growth seen in September but above economist estimates.

However, Peter Boockvar, managing director at the Lindsey Group, noted that a sharp jump in exports to Hong Kong raises questions about invoice inflated figures.

A separate report from the Chinese National Bureau of Statistics showed that annual consumer price inflation in China remained unchanged at a five-year low of 1.6 percent in October.

Nonetheless, trading activity on Wall Street has remained somewhat subdued amid a lack of major U.S. economic data on the day.

The economic calendar remains relatively light throughout the week, although traders are likely to keep an eye on reports on retail sales, consumer sentiment and weekly jobless claims.

The Veterans Day holiday on Tuesday may also be keeping some traders away from their desks, as the bond markets and most banks will be closed on the day even though the stock markets will be open for trading.

Among individual stocks, shares of Dean Foods (DF) are moving sharply higher after the milk company reported better than expected third quarter results.

Homebuilder Toll Brothers (TOL) has also shown a strong move to the upside after forecasting fiscal fourth quarter revenues above analyst estimates.

On the other hand, shares of Gogo (GOGO) have come under pressure after the provider of in-flight internet services reported a wider than expected third quarter loss.

Sector News

Railroad stocks have moved sharply higher over the course of the trading day, driving the Dow Jones Railroads Index up by 2.2 percent. With the gain, the index has reached a new record intraday high.

Guangshen Railway (GSH) has helped to lead the railroad sector higher, surging up by 5/7 percent. FreightCar America (RAIL) and American Railcar (ARII) are also posting strong gains.

Significant strength has also emerged among housing stocks, as reflected by the 1.2 percent gain being posted by the Philadelphia Housing Sector Index. With the gain, the index has reached its best intraday level in four months.

Airline and trucking stocks are also seeing considerable strength on the day, with the NYSE Arca Airline Index and the Dow Jones Trucking Index both climbing by 1.1 percent.

On the other hand, substantial weakness remains visible among gold stocks, resulting in a 5.1 percent drop by the NYSE Arca Gold Bugs Index. The weakness in the sector comes as gold for December delivery is falling $11.70 to $1,158.10 an ounce.

Networking, steel, and oil service stocks have also moved to the downside, partly offsetting the strength seen in the aforementioned sectors.

Other Markets

In overseas trading, stock markets across the Asia-Pacific region started the week with another mixed performance on Monday. Japan's Nikkei 225 Index fell by 0.6 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 French CAC 40 Index climbed by 0.8 percent, the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index and the German DAX Index both rose by 0.7 percent.

In the bond market, treasuries are giving back some ground after ending moving sharply higher last Friday. Subsequently, the yield on the benchmark ten-year note, which moves opposite of its price, is up by 2.3 basis points at 2.335 percent.