Major Averages Close Firmly Positive On Broad Based Strength

(RTTNews) - Extending the rebound seen over the course of the previous session, stocks moved sharply higher during trading on Friday. The gains on the day partly offset the recent sell-off on Wall Street, although the major averages remain well off their mid-September highs.

Housing stocks moved sharply higher over the course of the session following the release of upbeat housing starts data. The Philadelphia Housing Sector Index surged up by 3.1 percent, climbing further off the eleven-month closing low it set on Monday.

Hovnanian Enterprises (HOV), D.R. Horton (DHI), and KB Home (KBH) turned in some of the housing sector's best performances on the day.

Significant strength also emerged among railroad stocks, as reflected by the 2 percent gain posted by the Dow Jones Railroads Index. Greenbrier (GBX) helped lead the sector higher, jumping by 5.1 percent.

Computer hardware stocks also saw considerable strength, resulting in a 1.9 percent advance by the NYSE Arca Computer Hardware Index. Logitech (LOGI) posted a standout gain.

Defense, software, networking, and healthcare stocks also saw notable strength amid broad based buying interest, while gold stocks were among the few groups to buck the uptrend.

The major averages ended the day firmly in positive territory but off their best levels of the session. The Dow soared 263.17 points or 1.6 percent to 16,380.41, the Nasdaq jumped 41.05 points or 1 percent to 4,258.44 and the S&P 500 surged up 24.00 points or 1.3 percent to 1,886.76.

Despite the recovery, the major averages all moved lower for the week. The Nasdaq dipped by 0.4 percent, while the Dow and the S&P 500 both fell by 1 percent.