Stocks Hovering Firmly In Positive Territory In Early Trading - U.S. Commentary

(RTTNews) - Stocks have moved mostly higher in early trading on Wednesday, adding to the gains posted in the previous session. The major averages have all moved to the upside, climbing to their best intraday levels in about three months.

In recent trading, the major averages have moved roughly sideways, hovering firmly in positive territory. The Dow is up 138.75 points or 0.8 percent at 17,771.86, the Nasdaq is up 45.29 points or 0.9 percent at 4,891.91 and the S&P 500 is up 15.79 points or 0.7 percent at 2,070.80.

The early buying interest partly reflects a continued positive reaction to yesterday's remarks by Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen, which were seen as dovish regarding the outlook for interest rates.

In a speech to the Economic Club of New York, Yellen said she considers it appropriate for the Fed to proceed cautiously in adjusting monetary policy given the risks to the economic outlook.

The speech largely offset a recent uptick in speculation that the Fed will raise interest rates at its next meeting toward the end of April.

Positive sentiment has also been generated by the release of a report from payroll processor ADP showing slightly stronger than expected U.S. private sector job growth in the month of March.

ADP said private sector employment increased by 200,000 jobs in March after jumping by a downwardly revised 205,000 jobs in February. Economists had expected employment to climb by about 195,000 jobs.

Friday morning, the Labor Department is scheduled to release its more closely watched monthly jobs report, which includes both private and public sector jobs.

Jay Morelock, an economist at FTN Financial, said, "After Chair Yellen dampened expectations of a Fed move in April, all eyes turn to Friday's employment report to gauge whether the Fed will lean toward June or push the next rate hike into the second half of the year."

Energy stocks have shown a strong move to the upside in early trading, benefiting from a significant rebound by the price of crude oil.

After tumbling $1.11 to $38.28 a barrel in the previous session, crude for May delivery is currently jumping $1.44 to $39.72 a barrel.

The price of oil has seen continued strength following the release of a report from the Energy Information Administration showing a smaller than expected weekly increase in crude oil inventories.

Most of the other major sectors have also moved higher in early trading, with considerable strength visible among steel, railroad, financial and biotechnology stocks.

In overseas trading, most stock markets across the Asia-Pacific region moved higher on Wednesday. Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index and China's Shanghai Composite Index surged up by 2.2 percent and 2.8 percent, respectively. However, Japan's Nikkei 225 Index bucked the uptrend and slid by 1.3 percent.

Meanwhile, the major European markets have all shown strong moves to the upside on the day. While the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index has shot up by 1.6 percent, the German DAX Index and the French CAC 40 Index are both up by 1.9 percent.

In the bond market, treasuries are giving back ground after ending the previous session notably higher. As a result, the yield on the benchmark ten-year note, which moves opposite of its price, is up by 3.9 basis points at 1.853 percent.