U.S. Stocks See Further Upside After Early Rally

(RTTNews) - After moving sharply higher early in the session, stocks have seen further upside over the course of the trading day on Friday. The major averages have all shown significant moves to the upside, with the Dow surging to a two-month intraday high.

Currently, the major averages are just off their best levels of the day. The Dow is up 724.95 points or 2.3 percent at 32,758.23, the Nasdaq is up 241.06 points or 2.2 percent at 11,033.74 and the S&P 500 is up 75.80 points or 2.0 percent at 3,883.10.

The rally on Wall Street comes despite a steep drop by shares of Amazon (AMZN), with the online retail giant plunging by 8.3 percent.

Amazon has come under pressure after reporting mixed third quarter results and providing disappointing fourth quarter revenue guidance.

Traders have reacted more positively to other earnings news, with semiconductor giant Intel (INTC) soaring despite lowering its full-year guidance. Intel reported third quarter results that beat analyst estimates.

Shares of Apple (AAPL) have also moved sharply higher after the tech giant reported better than expected fiscal fourth quarter earnings but forecast slower revenue growth in the current quarter.

Energy giant Exxon Mobil (XOM) has also moved to the upside after reporting record profits in the third quarter due to higher energy prices.

Buying interest may also have been generated in reaction to a Commerce Department report showing core consumer price growth accelerated by slightly less than expected in September.

The Commerce Department said the annual rate of core consumer price growth accelerated to 5.1 percent in September from 4.9 percent in August.

Economists had expected the annual rate of growth in core consumer prices, which exclude food and energy prices, to accelerate to 5.2 percent.

Sector News

With Intel helping to lead the way higher, semiconductor stocks have shown a substantial move to the upside, driving the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index up by 3.1 percent.

Telecom stocks also continue to turn in a strong performance on the day, with the NYSE Arca North American Telecom Index surging by 2.9 percent to its best intraday level in a month.

Wireless network operator T-Mobile (TMUS) is posting a standout gain after reporting strong third quarter subscriber growth and raising its full-year guidance.

Considerable strength also remains visible among computer hardware stocks, as reflected by the 2.5 percent jump by the NYSE Arca Computer Hardware Index.

Brokerage, networking and commercial real estate stocks are also seeing significant strength, while steel, gold and oil service stocks remain under pressure.

Other Markets

In overseas trading, stock markets across the Asia-Pacific region moved mostly lower during trading on Friday. Japan's Nikkei 225 Index slid by 0.9 percent, while China's Shanghai Composite Index tumbled by 2.3 percent.

Meanwhile, the major European markets turned in a mixed performance on the day. While the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index fell by 0.4 percent, the German DAX Index inched up by 0.2 percent and the French CAC 40 Index rose by 0.5 percent.

In the bond market, treasuries are giving back ground after moving sharply higher over the past few sessions. Subsequently, the yield on the benchmark ten-year note, which moves opposite of its price, is up by 7.9 basis points at 4.016 percent.