Stocks Seeing Further Upside After Early Upward Move - U.S. Commentary

(RTTNews) - After moving moderately higher in early trading on Tuesday, stocks have seen some further upside over the course of the trading day. The strength on the day is partly offsetting the sell-off that was seen in the previous session.

The major averages are currently posting strong gains, near their best levels of the day. The Dow is up 92.83 points or 0.6 percent at 15,465.63, the Nasdaq is up 44.13 points or 1.1 percent at 4,041.09 and the S&P 500 is up 15.00 points or 0.9 percent at 1,756.89.

The strength on Wall Street is partly due to bargain hunting following the steep losses posted on Monday, which extended a recent downward trend for the markets.

With the sharp drop, the Dow and the S&P 500 fell to their lowest levels in over three months, while the Nasdaq set a two-month closing low.

The Dow was down by 7.3 percent compared to the record closing high set on the last day of 2013, closing in on the 10 percent decrease that defines a correction.

Some traders are subsequently picking up stocks at reduced levels, although buying interest remains somewhat subdued amid continued weakness in emerging market assets.

Among individual stocks, shares of ATMI (ATMI) are moving sharply higher after the semiconductor materials supplier agreed to be acquired by Entegris (ENTG) in a deal valued at approximately $1.15 billion.

Fast food giant Yum! Brands (YUM) is also moving to the upside after reporting better than expected fourth quarter earnings. The company also reaffirmed its 2014 earnings growth guidance.

Additionally, Microsoft (MSFT) is posting a modest gain after the software giant said its board has appointed Satya Nadella as Chief Executive Officer, effective immediately. The company said Nadella previously held the position of Executive Vice President of Microsoft's Cloud and Enterprise group.

On the other hand, shares of Take-Two Interactive (TTWO) have come under pressure after the video game company reported better than expected third quarter results but provided disappointing fourth quarter guidance.

Sector News

Networking stocks have shown a strong move to the upside on the day, driving the NYSE Arca Networking Index up by 1.9 percent. The index is regaining some ground after falling sharply over the two previous sessions.

Anixter International (AXE) has helped to lead the networking sector higher, surging up by 7.2 percent after reporting better than expected fourth quarter results.

Considerable strength has also emerged among brokerage stocks, as reflected by the 1.9 percent gain being posted by the NYSE Arca Broker/Dealer Index. With the gain, the index is bouncing off the two-month closing low set on Monday.

Natural gas stocks are also turning in a strong performance, moving higher along with the price of natural gas. With natural gas for March delivery climbing $0.337 to $5.242 per million BTUs, the NYSE Arca Natural Gas Index is up by 1.8 percent.

Chemical, steel, airline, and housing stocks are also seeing notable strength in mid-day trading, while some utilities stocks are bucking the uptrend.

Other Markets

In overseas trading, stock markets across the Asia-Pacific region saw substantial weakness during trading on Tuesday. Japan's Nikkei 225 Index tumbled by 4.2 percent, while Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index slumped by 2.9 percent.

Meanwhile, the major European markets turned in a mixed performance on the day. While French CAC 40 Index edged up by 0.2 percent, the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index dipped by 0.3 percent and the German DAX Index fell by 0.6 percent.

In the bond market, treasuries are giving back some ground after moving sharply higher in recent sessions. Subsequently, the yield on the benchmark ten-year note, which moves opposite of its price, is up by 4.7 basis points at 2.628 percent.