WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - Stocks have moved mostly higher in morning trading on Tuesday, rebounding following the weakness seen in the previous session. The major averages have all moved to the upside, although buying interest has remained somewhat subdued.
In recent trading, the major averages have moved roughly sideways, hovering in positive territory. The Dow is up 130.96 points or 0.5 percent at 25,810.86, the Nasdaq is up 62.39 points or 0.8 percent at 7,764.77 and the S&P 500 is up 18.04 points or 0.6 percent at 2,858.27.
Early buying interest was generated in reaction to news that the U.S. Commerce Department has temporarily eased trade restrictions on Chinese tech giant Huawei.
The Commerce Department issued a temporary license authorizing specific, limited engagement in transactions involving the export, re-export, and transfer of items to Huawei for 90 days.
Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross said the temporary reprieve grants 'operators time to make other arrangements and the Department space to determine the appropriate long term measures for Americans and foreign telecommunications providers that currently rely on Huawei equipment for critical services.'
'In short, this license will allow operations to continue for existing Huawei mobile phone users and rural broadband networks,' he added.
The move by the Trump administration led U.S. tech giant Google to reverse an earlier decision and announce it will continue to work with Huawei over the next 90 days.
Buying interest waned over the course of the morning, however, as the move is only temporary and may just the problems down the road.
A report from the National Association of Realtors showing an unexpected drop in existing home sales also partly offset the positive sentiment.
NAR said existing home sales dipped by 0.4 percent to an annual rate of 5.19 million in April after plunging by 4.9 percent to a rate of 5.21 million in March.
The continued decrease came as a surprise to economists, who had expected existing home sales to jump by 2.7 percent to a rate of 5.35 million.
After falling sharply in the previous session, semiconductor stocks are turning in some of the market's best performances in morning trading.
Reflecting the rebound by the sector, the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index has jumped by 1.8 percent after plunging by 4 percent on Monday.
Computer hardware stocks are also showing a significant rebound, moving notably higher along with biotechnology, energy and chemical stocks.
In overseas trading, stock markets across the Asia-Pacific region turned in another mixed performance during trading on Tuesday. Japan's Nikkei 225 Index edged down by 0.1 percent, while China's Shanghai Composite Index surged up by 1.2 percent.
Meanwhile, the major European markets have all moved to the upside on the day. While the German DAX Index is up by 0.7 percent, the French CAC 40 Index and the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index are both up by 0.3 percent.
In the bond market, treasuries have climbed back near the unchanged line after seeing initial weakness. Subsequently, the yield on the benchmark ten-year note, which moves opposite of its price, is up by less than a basis point at 2.425 percent.
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