Major Averages Remain In Positive Territory In Mid-Day Trading

(RTTNews) - While buying interest has remained somewhat subdued, stocks have moved mostly higher over the course of the trading day on Thursday. The gains on the day are extending yesterday's strong upward move, with the Nasdaq rising to its best intraday level in almost a month.

Biotechnology stocks are seeing significant strength on the day, with the NYSE Arca Biotechnology Index up by 2.2 percent. The index has moved toward the high end of a recent trading range and is currently poised to end the session at its best closing level in well over a month.

Nektar Therapeutics (NKTR), Vertex (VRTX), and Alexion (ALXN) are turning in some of the biotech sector's best performance.

Considerable strength is also visible among housing stocks, which have reacted positively to the existing home sales data. Reflecting the strength in the sector, the Philadelphia Housing Sector Index has advanced by 1.1 percent.

Electronic storage, brokerage, and healthcare stocks are also seeing notable strength, while most of the other major sectors have shown more modest moves to the upside.

The major averages are currently all in positive territory, although the Dow is posting only a modest gain. While the Dow is up 19.07 points or 0.1 percent at 16,552.13, the Nasdaq is up 25.46 points or 0.6 percent at 4,157.00 and the S&P 500 is up 6.21 points or 0.3 percent at 1,894.25.