U.S. Stocks Move Sharply Higher, Poised To Snap Three-Week Losing Streak

(RTTNews) - Stocks have moved sharply higher in morning trading on Friday, extending the strong upward move seen going into the close of the previous session. The major averages have all shown substantial moves to the upside on the day.

Currently, the major averages are just off their highs of the session. The Dow is up 561.70 points or 1.8 percent at 31,239.06, the Nasdaq is up 270.91 points or 2.4 percent at 11,503.11 and the S&P 500 is up 81.52 points or 2.2 percent at 3,877.25.

Combined with the rally on Tuesday and the late-day strength on Thursday, the rally on the day has the major averages poised to snap a three-week losing streak.

Overseas strength has carried over onto Wall Street, as traders continue to pick up stocks at relatively reduced levels following recent weakness.

Traders continue to express concerns about inflation, interest rates and a potential recession but may feel to sell-off earlier this month was overdone.

Adding to the positive sentiment, shares of FedEx (FDX) are soaring after the delivery giant narrowly missed fiscal fourth quarter earnings estimates but provided upbeat guidance for the current year.

FedEx has helped to lead a rally by transportation stocks, resulting in a 4.2 percent spike by the Dow Jones Transportation Average.

Significant strength has also emerged among semiconductor stocks, as reflected by the 4 percent surge by the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index.

A rebound by the price of crude oil is also contributing to considerable strength among energy stocks, with the Philadelphia Oil Service Index and the NYSE Arca Oil Index jumping by 3.5 percent and 3.2 percent, respectively.

Banking, steel, chemical and computer hardware stocks are also showing strong moves to the upside amid broad based buying interest on Wall Street.

On the U.S. economic front, the Commerce Department released a report unexpectedly showing a significant rebound in new home sales in the month of May.

The report showed new home sales surged 10.7 percent to an annual rate of 696,000 in May after plunging 12.0 percent to an upwardly revised rate of 629,000 in April.

The spike surprised economists had expected new home sales to dip 0.5 percent to an annual rate of 588,000 from the 591,000 originally reported for the previous month.

Meanwhile, a separate report from the University of Michigan showed consumer sentiment in the U.S. tumbled by slightly more than initially estimated in the month of June.

The report showed the consumer sentiment index for June was downwardly revised to 50.0 from the preliminary reading of 50.2. The consumer sentiment index is down sharply from the final May reading of 58.4, plunging to its lowest level on record.

In overseas trading, stock markets across the Asia-Pacific region moved mostly higher during trading on Friday. Japan's Nikkei 225 Index shot up by 1.2 percent, while China's Shanghai Composite Index advanced by 0.9 percent.

The major European markets have also moved to the upside on the day. While the French CAC 40 Index has spiked by 3.3 percent, the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index is up by 2.4 percent and the German DAX Index is up by 1.9 percent.

In the bond market, treasuries are giving back ground after moving sharply higher over the past several sessions. Subsequently, the yield on the benchmark ten-year note, which moves opposite of its price, is up by 3.6 basis points at 3.104 percent.