Stocks Holding On To Modest Gains In Mid-Day Trading - U.S. Commentary

(RTTNews) - After moving to the upside early in the session, stocks continue to see modest strength in mid-day trading on Friday. The major averages have all moved into positive territory, reaching new record intraday highs.

Currently, the major averages are holding on to slim gains. The Dow is up 50.71 points or 0.3 percent at 19,133.89, the Nasdaq is up 12.54 points or 0.2 percent at 5,393.22 and the S&P 500 is up 5.36 points or 0.2 percent at 2,210.08.

The modest strength on Wall Street extends the upward trend seen in reaction to President-elect Donald Trump's shocking victory earlier this month.

Trading activity on the day is likely to be relatively light, however, as many traders will remain away from their desks following the holiday.

Most markets across the country are scheduled to close earlier than usual, with the stock markets due to close at 1 pm ET.

On the U.S. economic front, the Commerce Department released a report showing that the trade deficit in goods widened much more than expected in October.

The report said the goods deficit widened to $62.0 billion in October from $56.5 billion in September. The deficit had been expected to widen to $59.7 billion.

The wider deficit came as the value of imports climbed by 1.1 percent to $184.1 billion and the value of exports fell by 2.7 percent to $122.1 billion.

Utilities stocks have shown a strong move to the upside in early trading, driving the Dow Jones Utilities Average up by 1.2 percent. AES Corp. (AES) and American Water Works (AWK) are posting notable gains.

Pharmaceutical, housing, and telecom are also seeing some strength, while most of the other major sectors are showing more modest moves.

In overseas trading, stock markets across the Asia-Pacific region moved to the upside during trading on Friday. Japan's Nikkei 225 Index rose by 0.3 percent, while Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index climbed by 0.5 percent.

The major European markets also ended the day modestly higher. While the German DAX Index inched up by 0.1 percent, the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index and the French CAC 40 Index both edged up by 0.2 percent.

In the bond market, treasuries have moved modestly lower after initially showing a lack of direction. As a result, the yield on the benchmark ten-year note, which moves opposite of its price, is up by 2 basis points at 2.377 percent.