Stocks Move Moderately Higher Following Upbeat Economic Data - U.S. Commentary

(RTTNews) - After initially showing a lack of direction, stocks have moved moderately higher over the course of the trading session on Tuesday. With the upward move, the tech-heavy Nasdaq has reached a new record intraday high.

Currently, the major averages are near their best levels of the day. The Dow is up 31.91 points or 0.2 percent at 19,129.81, the Nasdaq is up 33.88 points or 0.6 percent at 5,402.69 and the S&P 500 is up 7.11 points or 0.3 percent at 2,208.83.

The strength that has emerged on Wall Street comes following the release of some upbeat economic data, including a report from the Commerce Department showing a bigger than expected upward revision to the pace of GDP growth in the third quarter.

The report said GDP climbed by 3.2 percent in the third quarter compared to the initially estimated 2.9 percent increase. Economists had expected the pace of growth to be upwardly revised to 3.0 percent.

The upwardly revised GDP growth in the third quarter compares to the 1.4 percent increase seen in the second quarter and marks the strongest growth in two years.

A separate report from the Conference Board showed a much bigger than expected improvement in consumer confidence in the month of November.

The Conference Board said its consumer confidence index surged up to 107.1 in October from an upwardly revised 100.8 in October. Economists had been expecting the index to climb to 101.0.

With the bigger than expected increase, the consumer confidence index reached its highest level since hitting 111.9 in July of 2007.

However, traders remain somewhat reluctant to make significant moves amid uncertainty about the highly anticipated OPEC meeting on Wednesday.

Crude oil prices are seeing continued volatility ahead of the meeting, with crude for January delivery tumbling $1.82 to $45.26 a barrel after jumping $1.02 to $47.07 a barrel on Monday.

The sharp pullback by the price of crude oil comes after a report from Reuters said Iran and Iraq are resisting pressure from Saudi Arabia to curtail oil production.

Sector News

Despite the strength being shown by the broader markets, most of the major sectors continue to show only modest moves in mid-day trading.

Commercial real estate stocks are seeing considerable strength, however, with the Morgan Stanley REIT Index climbing by 1.2 percent. The index has reached its best intraday level in almost a month.

Ashford Hospitality Trust (AHT), Parkway (PKY), and Post Properties (PPS) are turning in some of the real estate sector's best performances.

On the other hand, energy stocks remain under pressure amid the steep drop by the price of crude oil. The Philadelphia Oil Service Index has tumbled by 2.5 percent, while the NYSE Arca Oil & Gas Index is down by 1.6 percent.

Steel stocks are also seeing notable weakness but have climbed well off their worst levels of the day. The NYSE Arca Steel Index is down by 1.9 percent after ending the previous session at a two-year closing high.

Other Markets

In overseas trading, stock markets across the Asia-Pacific region turned in another mixed performance during trading on Tuesday. Japan's Nikkei 225 Index fell by 0.3 percent, while China's Shanghai Composite Index edged up by 0.2 percent.

The major European markets also ended the day mixed. While the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index fell by 0.4 percent, the German DAX Index rose by 0.4 percent and the French CAC 40 Index advanced by 0.9 percent.

In the bond market, treasuries have climbed back near the unchanged line after seeing early weakness. As a result, the yield on the benchmark ten-year note, which moves opposite of its price, is up by less than a basis point at 2.329 percent.