S&P 500 Climbs Back Toward 1,900 Amid Light Trading

(RTTNews) - After moving modestly higher in early trading on Friday, stocks have seen some further upside over the course of the trading day. The gains on the day extend the upward move seen over the two previous sessions, with the S&P 500 climbing back toward 1,900.

Airline stocks have shown a significant move to the upside over the course of the trading day, driving the NYSE Arca Airline Index up by 1.8 percent. With the gain, the index has reached a twelve-year intraday high.

United Continental (UAL) has helped to lead the airline sector higher, advancing by 5.1 percent, while Republic Airways (RJET) and Hawaiian Airlines (HA) are also posting strong gains.

Significant strength is also visible among housing stocks, which have reacted positively to the upbeat new home sales data. The Philadelphia Housing Sector Index has risen by 1.5 percent and is on pace to end the session at its best closing level in well over a month.

Defense, commercial real estate, and railroad stocks are also seeing some strength on the day, while most of the other major sectors are showing only modest moves.

Trading activity has remained somewhat subdued, as some traders look to get a head start of the long Memorial Day weekend.

Currently, the major averages are posting moderate gains, near their highs for the session. The Dow is up 54.23 points or 0.3 percent at 16,597.31, the Nasdaq is up 18.70 points or 0.5 percent at 4,173.04 and the S&P 500 is up 6.29 points or 0.3 percent at 1,898.78.