Stocks Mostly Higher In Mid-Day Trading - U.S. Commentary

(RTTNews) - After moving modestly higher in early trading, stocks have seen some further upside over the course of the trading day on Tuesday. Buying interest has remained somewhat subdued, however, as many traders remain away from their desks.

The major averages have moved roughly sideways in recent trading, hovering in positive territory. The Dow is up 50.96 points or 0.3 percent at 16,555.25, the Nasdaq is up 17.01 points or 0.4 percent at 4,171.21 and the S&P 500 is up 5.62 points or 0.3 percent at 1,846.69.

The strength on Wall Street likely reflects window dressing on the final trading day of the year, with some mutual fund managers looking to improve their yearly performance.

Some buying interest was also generated by the release of a report from the Conference Board showing a bigger than expected rebound by consumer confidence.

The Conference Board said its consumer confidence index jumped to 78.1 in December from 72.0 in November. Economists had expected the index to climb to 76.8 from the 70.4 originally reported for the previous month.

Lynn Franco, Director of Economic Indicators at the Conference Board, noted that the rebounded lifted the index back near pre-government shutdown levels. The index came in at 80.2 in September.

A separate report from Standard & Poor's showed that home prices rose at the fastest annual rate in over seven years in October, while MNI Indicators released a report showing a bigger than expected slowdown in the pace of growth in Chicago-area business activity in December.

Nonetheless, many traders remain on the sidelines ahead of the New Year's Day holiday on Wednesday, likely leading to choppy trading over the remainder of the session.

Sector News

After coming under pressure in the previous session, gold stocks have shown a strong move back to the upside on the day. The NYSE Arca Gold Bugs Index has advanced by 1.5 percent after tumbling by 2.6 percent on Monday.

The rebound by gold stocks comes amid a modest increase by the price of the precious metal, with gold for February delivery climbing $2.10 to $1,205.90 an ounce.

Brokerage stocks are also seeing notable strength in mid-day trading, with the NYSE Arca Broker/Dealer Index up by 1.1 percent. With the gain, the index has risen to a five-year high.

Oil, railroad, and airline stocks are also seeing some strength on the day, while most of the other major sectors are showing more modest moves.

Other Markets

In overseas trading, stock markets across the Asia-Pacific region moved mostly higher on Tuesday, although several markets were closed for holidays. China's Shanghai Composite Index advanced by 0.9 percent, while Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index rose by 0.3 percent.

European stocks also moved to the upside amid an abbreviated trading session. The U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index climbed 0.3 percent, while the French CAC 40 Index ended the day up by 0.5 percent. The German markets remained closed.

In the bond market, treasuries have come under pressure, offsetting the strength seen in the previous session. Subsequently, the yield on the benchmark ten-year note, which moves opposite of its price, is up by 3.2 basis points at 3.008 percent.