Major Averages Posting Modest Gains In Mid-Day Trading

(RTTNews) - After initially showing a lack of direction, stocks have moved modestly higher over the course of the trading day on Wednesday. Buying interest has remained relatively subdued, however, limiting the upside for the markets.

While many of the major sectors continue to show only modest moves, considerable strength has emerged among computer hardware stocks. The NYSE Arca Computer Hardware Index has surged up by 1.7 percent, continuing to recover from last Wednesday's nearly five-month intraday low.

Logitech (LOGI) and NetApp (NTAP) are turning in two of the hardware sector's best performances, climbing by 2.5 percent and 2.1 percent, respectively.

Utilities stocks have also shown a strong move to the upside on the day, driving the Dow Jones Utilities Average up by 1.1 percent. With the gain, the average has reached a record intraday high.

On the other hand, notable weakness remains visible among gold stocks, which are moving lower along with the price of the precious metal. With gold for December delivery sliding $7.90 to $1,243.80 an ounce, the NYSE Arca Gold Bugs Index is down by 1.6 percent.

The major averages have pulled back off their highs for the session in recent trading but are currently clinging to slim gains. The Dow is up 14.31 points or 0.1 percent at 16,629.12, the Nasdaq is up 9.04 points or 0.2 percent at 4,428.52 and the S&P 500 is up 5.74 points or 0.3 percent at 1.947.02.