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

(RTTNews) - Buying interest has remained somewhat subdued, but stocks remain mostly positive in mid-day trading on Monday. Tech stocks are seeing notable strength, driving the tech-heavy Nasdaq up to its best intraday level of 2016.

The major averages are all in positive territory, although the Nasdaq is outperforming its counterparts. While the Nasdaq is up 31.03 points or 0.6 percent at 5,060.61, the Dow is up 27.43 points or 0.2 percent at 18,543.98 and the S&P 500 is up 5.48 points or 0.3 percent at 2,167.22.

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.

Positive sentiment was also generated by news of Softbank's deal to acquire ARM Holdings (ARMH), which has contributed to the strength in the tech sector.

Shares of ARM are soaring by 41.7 percent after the semiconductor and software design company agreed to be acquired by Softbank for $32 billion in cash.

Meanwhile, the National Association of Home Builders released a report this morning 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.

Sector News

Semiconductor stocks continue to see significant strength in mid-day trading, with the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index jumping by 1.7 percent. With the gain, the index has reached its best intraday level in over a year.

While ARM has led the sector higher, Qorvo (QRVO), Skyworks Solutions (SWKS), and Marvell Technology (MRVL) are also posting notable gains on the day.

Considerable strength is also visible among computer hardware stocks, as reflected by the 1.3 percent gain being posted by the NYSE Arca Computer Hardware Index. Seagate Technology (STX) and Logitech (LOGI) are posting standout gains.

On the other hand, oil service stocks have come under pressure on the day, dragging the Philadelphia Oil Service Index down by 1.1 percent. The weakness in the sector comes as crude oil for August delivery is sliding $0.85 to $45.10 a barrel.

Other Markets

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 turned in a mixed performance on the day. While the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index climbed by 0.4 percent, the German DAX Index closed just below the unchanged line and the French CAC 40 Index fell by 0.3 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 up by less than basis point at 1.599 percent.