Dow And S&P 500 Reach Record Highs, Nasdaq Underperforms

(RTTNews) - With traders reacting positively to a batch of largely upbeat economic data, stocks have moved notably higher during trading on Thursday. The gains on the day have lifted the Dow and the S&P 500 to new record intraday highs.

Health insurance stocks have shown a substantial move to the upside, driving the Morgan Stanley Healthcare Payor Index up by 3 percent. With the gain, the index has reached a record intraday high.

UnitedHealth (UNH) has helped to lead the health insurance sector higher, surging up by 5.7 percent after reporting better than expected second quarter earnings.

Significant strength is also visible among airline stocks, which are adding to the standout gains posted in the previous session. The NYSE Arca Airline Index has jumped 2.4 percent to its best intraday level in over six years.

Banking stocks are also seeing considerable strength in mid-day trading, with the KBW Bank Index up by 1.4 percent. The index has reached a nearly five-year intraday high.

Natural gas, oil service, and railroad stocks are also posting strong gains on the day, moving higher along with most of the other major sectors.

The major averages have given back some ground in recent trading but currently remain firmly positive. The Dow is up 99.97 points or 0.7 percent at 15,570.49, the Nasdaq is up 7.76 points or 0.2 percent at 3,617.76 and the S&P 500 is up 9.44 points or 0.6 percent at 1,690.35.