U.S. Stocks Seeing Modest Strength, Dow Reaches New Record High

(RTTNews) - Stocks have moved modestly higher during trading on Monday, with the major averages adding to the strong gains posted last week. With the uptick on the day, the Dow has reached a new record intraday high.

Currently, the Dow is up 69.84 points or 0.2 percent at 42,133.20, the Nasdaq is up 56.11 points or 0.3 percent at 18,004.43 and the S&P 500 is up 18.32 points or 0.3 percent at 5,720.87.

The modest strength on Wall Street may partly reflect optimism about the outlook for the economy following the Federal Reserve's interest rate cut last week.

The Fed is expected to continue lowering rates in the coming months amid signs of slowing inflation even as the economy remains relatively strong.

The markets have also benefited from a notable advance by shares of Intel (INTC), with the semiconductor giant jumping by 2.0 percent.

The rally by Intel comes after a report from Bloomberg said Apollo Global Management (APO) has offered to make a multibillion-dollar investment in the company.

Overall trading activity remains somewhat subdued, however, as traders look ahead to the release of some key economic data later this week.

Reports on durable goods orders, new home sales and consumer confidence are likely to attract attention along with a report on personal income and spending that includes the Fed's preferred inflation gauge.

Sector News

Natural gas stocks have shown a significant move to the upside on the day, driving the NYSE Arca Natural Gas Index up by 1.4 percent to a two-month intraday high. The rally by natural gas stocks comes amid a sharp increase by the price of the commodity.

An increase by the price of gold is also contributing to considerable strength among gold stocks, as reflected by the 1.3 percent gain being posted by the NYSE Arca Gold Bugs Index.

Oil producer and oil service stocks have also shown notable moves to the upside 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 turned in a mixed performance on Wednesday, with markets in Japan closed for a holiday. China's Shanghai Composite Index rose by 0.4 percent, while Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index edged down by 0.1 percent.

The major European markets have also turned mixed the day. While the French CAC 40 Index is down by 0.1 percent, the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index is up by 0.3 percent and the German DAX Index is up by 0.5 percent.

In the bond market, treasuries have moved back to the downside following the uptick seen last Friday. As a result, the yield on the benchmark ten-year note, which moves opposite of its price, is up by 5.1 basis points at 3.779 percent.