Major Averages Clinging To Slim Gains In Afternoon Trading

(RTTNews) - Stocks edged higher early in the session on Thursday and continue to see modest strength in afternoon trading. The Nasdaq and the S&P 500 are moving higher for the fifth consecutive session.

Currently, the major averages are holding on to slim gains. The Dow is up 67.02 points or 0.2 percent at 37,723.54, the Nasdaq is up 14.86 points or 0.1 percent at 15,114.03 and the S&P 500 is up 6.22 points or 0.1 percent at 4,787.80.

The modest strength on Wall Street comes after the Labor Department released a report showing first-time claims for U.S. unemployment benefits rose by more than expected in the week ended December 23rd.

The report said initial jobless claims climbed to 218,000, an increase of 12,000 from the previous week's revised level of 206,000.

Economists had expected jobless claims to inch up to 210,000 from the 205,000 originally reported for the previous week.

The data may have added to optimism about the likelihood of near-term interest rate cuts by the Federal Reserve, with CME Group's FedWatch Tool currently indicating a 72.8 percent chance the Fed will lower rates by a quarter point in March.

The National Association of Realtors also released a report showing pending home sales were unexpectedly unchanged in the month of November.

NAR said its pending home sales index stayed at 71.6 in November after tumbling by a revised 1.2 percent in October.

Economists had expected pending home sales to jump by 1.0 percent compared to the 1.5 percent slump originally reported for the previous month.

Trading activity may pick back up next week, as the Labor Department is scheduled to release its more closely watched monthly jobs report next Friday.

Sector News

Despite the uptick by the broader markets, gold stocks have moved sharply lower on the day, dragging the NYSE Arca Gold Bugs Index down by 2.0 percent.

The index is pulling back off a five-month closing high as the price of gold for February delivery has fallen $9.60 to $2,083.50 an ounce.

A steep drop by the price of crude oil is also weighing on energy stocks, with the NYSE Arca Oil Index and the Philadelphia Oil Service Index down by 1.4 percent and 1.2 percent, respectively.

Other Markets

In overseas trading, stock markets across the Asia-Pacific region moved mostly higher on Thursday, although Japanese stocks bucked the uptrend. While Japan's Nikkei 225 Index fell by 0.4 percent, China's Shanghai Composite Index jumped by 1.4 percent and Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index surged by 2.5 percent.

Meanwhile, the major European markets moved to the downside. While the French CAC 40 Index fell by 0.5 percent, the German DAX Index dipped by 0.2 percent and the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index closed just below the unchanged line.

In the bond market, treasuries are giving back ground after moving notably higher in the previous session. As a result, the yield on the benchmark ten-year note, which moves opposite of its price, is up by 6.5 basis points at 3.854 percent.