Major Averages Hovering In Positive Territory In Mid-Day Trading

(RTTNews) - After moving notably higher early in the session, stocks have continued to perform well over the course of the trading day on Monday. The Dow has reached a new record intraday high, while the S&P 500 has climbed above its previous record closing high.

Networking stocks are seeing significant strength in mid-day trading, resulting in a 2.5 percent jump by the NYSE Arca Networking Index. The index is regaining some ground after ending the previous session at a four-month closing low.

Alcatel-Lucent (ALU) is leading the sector back to the upside after coming under pressure over the course of Friday's trading following the release of its first quarter results.

Considerable strength has also emerged among internet stocks, as reflected by the 2.4 percent gain being posted by the Dow Jones Internet Composite Index. Twitter (TWTR) is posting a notable gain after being upgraded to Buy at SunTrust Robinson Humphrey.

Steel stocks also continue to turn in a strong performance on the heels of the news out of China, with the NYSE Arca Steel Index up by 2.3 percent. The index is poised to end the session at its best closing level in almost a month.

Airline, brokerage, biotechnology and software stocks are also posting strong gains, moving higher along with most of the other major sectors.

The major averages have moved roughly sideways in recent trading, hovering firmly in positive territory. The Dow is up 103.11 points or 0.6 percent at 16,686.45, the Nasdaq is up 60.81 points or 1.5 percent at 4,132.68 and the S&P 500 is up 15.02 points or 0.8 percent at 1,893.50.