Stocks Move Notably Higher Following Recent Sell-Off - U.S. Commentary

(RTTNews) - Stocks have moved notably higher during early trading on Tuesday after falling sharply over the two previous sessions. The major averages have climbed firmly into positive territory but remain well below their recent highs.

In recent trading, the major averages have pulled back off their best levels but they continue to post strong gains. The Dow is up 164.36 points or 1 percent at 17,304.60, the Nasdaq is up 68.80 points or 1.5 percent at 4,663.24 and the S&P 500 is up 21.43 points or 1.1 percent at 2,021.97.

The rebound on Wall Street comes amid bargain hunting, with traders picking up stocks at reduced levels following the recent sell-off.

The steep drop seen in the two sessions following the Brexit vote dragged the Dow and the S&P 500 down to their lowest closing levels in over three months, while the Nasdaq hit a four-month closing low.

Nonetheless, lingering concerns about the economic impact of the Brexit have prevented the markets from recovering all of the lost ground.

On the U.S. economic front, the Commerce Department released a report showing that economic activity increased faster than previously estimated in the first quarter of 2016.

The Commerce Department said the pace of growth in gross domestic product was upwardly revised to 1.1 percent from the previous estimate of 0.8 percent.

The revised GDP growth in the first quarter compares to the 1.4 percent jump seen in the fourth quarter and the 1.0 percent increase expected by economists.

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

The Conference Board said its consumer confidence index jumped to 98.0 in June from a revised 92.4 in May. Economists had been expecting the index to inch up to 93.3.

Electronic storage stocks have shown a strong move to the upside after posting particularly steep losses in the two previous sessions. Reflecting the strength in the sector, the NYSE Arca Disk Drive Index has surged up by 2.6 percent.

Biotechnology, natural gas, steel, and railroad stocks are also seeing considerable strength, moving higher along with most of the other major sectors.

In overseas trading, stock markets across the Asia-Pacific region turned in another mixed performance on Tuesday. Japan's Nikkei 225 Index crept up by 0.1 percent, while Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index edged down by 0.3 percent.

Meanwhile, the major European markets have all moved sharply higher on the day. While the German DAX Index has surged up by 2.4 percent, the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index and the French CAC 40 Index are both up by 2.9 percent.

In the bond market, treasuries are showing a lack of direction despite the rally on Wall Street. 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 1.465 percent.