Stocks Seeing Further Upside Following Early Strength - U.S. Commentary

(RTTNews) - Stocks have shown a strong move to the upside over the course of the trading day on Wednesday, adding to the gains posted in the previous session. The strength on Wall Street comes as traders have shrugged off lingering concerns about the situation in Syria.

The major averages have seen some further upside in recent trading, reaching new highs for the session. The Dow is up 111.89 points or 0.8 percent at 14,945.85, the Nasdaq is up 36.41 points or 1 percent at 3,649.02 and the S&P 500 is up 14.59 points or 0.9 percent at 1,654.36.

The markets have benefited from considerable strength among technology stocks, as reflected by the notable advance by the tech-heavy Nasdaq.

Networking stocks are posting particularly strong gains, driving the NYSE Arca Networking Index up by 2.4 percent. The index is continuing to regain ground after ending last Friday's trading at its lowest closing level in over a month.

Ciena (CIEN) has helped to lead the networking sector higher, with the telecom equipment maker surging up by 11.9 percent after reporting better than expected third quarter results.

Significant strength has also emerged among semiconductor stocks, resulting in a 2.1 percent gain by the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index. Cirrus Logic (CRUS), KLA-Tencor (KLAC) and Micron (MU) are posting notable gains.

Outside the tech sector, brokerage stocks have also shown a strong move to the upside on the day, with the NYSE Arca Broker/Dealer Index up by 1.7 percent.

E*Trade (ETFC) is posting a standout gain after announcing that its subsidiary, E*TRADE Bank, has received regulatory approval to dividend capital to the company's parent.

Oil service, biotechnology, and railroad stocks are also seeing considerable strength in mid-day trading, moving higher along with most of the major sectors.

On the economic front, the Commerce Department released a report before the start of trading showing that the U.S. trade deficit widened in July.

The report said the trade deficit widened to $39.1 billion in July compared to a revised $34.5 billion deficit in June. Economists had expected the deficit to widen to $39.0 billion from the $34.2 billion originally reported for the previous month.

Despite the revision, the trade deficit recorded for June still represents the narrowest U.S. trade deficit since October of 2009.

In overseas trading, stock markets across the Asia-Pacific region turned in a mixed performance during trading on Wednesday. Japan's Nikkei 225 Index rose by 0.5 percent, while Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index ended the day down by 0.3 percent.

Meanwhile, the major European markets all moved to the upside over the course of the session. While the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index inched up by 0.1 percent, the German DAX Index and the French CAC 40 Index both edged up by 0.2 percent.

In the bond market, treasuries are seeing modest weakness after ending the previous session sharply lower. Subsequently, the yield on the benchmark ten-year note, which moves opposite of its price, is up by 1.5 basis points at 2.863 percent.