Stocks Remain Mostly Positive In Mid-Day Trading - U.S. Commentary

(RTTNews) - Stocks have moved mostly higher over the course of the trading session on Tuesday after initially showing a lack of direction. The upward move on the day reflects an extension of the rally seen in the previous session.

The major averages have moved roughly sideways in recent trading, hovering near their best levels of the day. The Dow is up 98.78 points or 0.6 percent at 17,581.79, the Nasdaq is up 34.23 points or 0.7 percent at 5,018.85 and the S&P 500 is up 11.57 points or 0.6 percent at 2,064.76.

The strength that has emerged on Wall Street partly reflects a positive reaction to upbeat earnings news from Wal-Mart (WMT) and Home Depot (HD), which are both moving higher on the day.

Wal-Mart and Home Depot both reported better than expected third quarter earnings and forecast full-year profits above analyst estimates.

Traders are also digesting some key U.S. economic data, including a report from the Labor Department showing an uptick in consumer prices in October.

The Labor Department said its consumer price index climbed by 0.2 percent in October after falling by 0.2 percent in September. The modest increase matched economist estimates.

Excluding food and energy prices, the core consumer price index still rose by 0.2 percent, matching the increase seen in the previous month as well as expectations.

A separate report from the Federal Reserve showed that industrial production unexpectedly decreased in the month of October, reflecting steep drops in mining and utilities output

The report said industrial production dipped by 0.2 percent in October, matching the decrease seen in September. The drop surprised economists, who had expected production to inch up by 0.1 percent.

Additionally, the National Association of Home Builders released a report showing that homebuilder confidence has unexpectedly deteriorated in November.

The report said the NAHB/Wells Fargo Housing Market Index fell to 62 in November from an upwardly revised 65 in October.

Economists had expected the index to come in unchanged compared to the 64 originally reported for the previous month.

Sector News

Biotechnology stocks continue to turn in some of the market's best performances in mid-day trading, driving the NYSE Arca Biotechnology Index up by 2 percent. Despite the gain, the index remains stuck in a recent trading range.

Novavax (NVAX) has helped to lead the biotech sector higher, with the biopharmaceutical company jumping by 8.8 percent.

Significant strength is also visible among computer hardware stocks, as reflected by the 1.9 percent gain being posted by the NYSE Arca Computer Hardware Index. Lexmark (LXK) is posting a standout gain.

Retail, airline, and housing stocks are also seeing considerable strength, while gold stocks are bucking the uptrend amid a decrease by the price of the precious metal.

Other Markets

In overseas trading, stock markets across the Asia-Pacific region moved mostly higher during trading on Tuesday. Japan's Nikkei 225 Index and Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index both surged up by 1.2 percent, while Australia's All Ordinaries Index jumped by 2.2 percent.

The major European markets also saw significant strength on the day. While the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index shot up by 1.9 percent, the German DAX Index and the French CAC 40 Index soared by 2.4 percent and 2.8 percent, respectively.

In the bond market, treasuries have pulled back after seeing some strength over the past few sessions. As a result, the yield on the benchmark ten-year note, which moves opposite of its price, is up by 2.6 basis points at 2.299 percent.