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

(RTTNews) - After moving to the upside early in the session, stocks remain mostly positive in mid-day trading on Friday. While buying interest has been somewhat subdued, the tech-heavy Nasdaq has managed to reach a new record intraday high.

While the Dow has pulled back well off its best levels, the blue chip index remains up 12.78 points or 0.1 percent at 19,903.78. The Nasdaq is up 34.98 points or 0.6 percent at 5,582.47 and the S&P 500 is up 5.79 points or 0.3 percent at 2,276.23.

Banking stocks helped to lead the way higher on Wall Street, with the Dow Jones Banks Index climbing by 1.4 percent. The index reached its highest intraday level in well over eight years in early trading.

Wells Fargo (WFC) is posting a notable gain even though the banking giant reported fourth quarter earnings that fell to $0.96 per share from $1.00 per share a year ago. The company reported adjusted earnings of $1.03 per share.

JPMorgan Chase (JPM) and Bank of America (BAC) have also moved to the upside after reporting better than expected fourth quarter earnings.

Electronic storage, biotechnology, and internet stocks are also seeing some strength on the day, while most of the major sectors are showing more modest moves.

On the economic front, the Commerce Department released a report before the start of trading showing that retail sales rose by slightly less than expected in the month of December.

The Commerce Department said retail sales climbed by 0.6 percent in December after edging up by a revised 0.2 percent in November. Economists had expected retail sales to increase by 0.7 percent.

Excluding auto sales, retail sales inched up by 0.2 percent in December after rising by 0.3 percent in November. Ex-auto sales had been expected to climb by 0.5 percent.

A separate report from the Labor Department showed that producer price growth came in line with economist estimates in December.

The Labor Department said its producer price index for final demand rose by 0.3 percent in December after climbing by 0.4 percent in November.

Excluding food and energy prices, core producer prices edged up by 0.2 percent in December after rising by 0.4 percent in November. Core prices had been expected to inch up by 0.1 percent.

The University of Michigan also released a report showing that its consumer sentiment index unexpectedly edged down to 98.1 in January from 98.2 in December.

In overseas trading, stock markets across the Asia-Pacific region turned in a mixed performance during trading on Friday. Japan's Nikkei 225 Index climbed by 0.8 percent, while China's Shanghai Composite Index dipped by 0.2 percent.

Meanwhile, the major European markets all moved to the upside on the day. While the French CAC 40 Index surged up by 1.2 percent, the German DAX Index advanced by 0.9 percent and the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index rose by 0.6 percent.

In the bond market, treasuries have come under pressure after showing a lack of direction over the past few sessions. Subsequently, the yield on the benchmark ten-year note, which moves opposite of its price, is up by 5 basis points at 2.411 percent.