WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - Stocks have moved modestly higher over the course of morning trading on Friday, recovering from an initial move to the downside. The major averages have all climbed into positive territory after ending the previous session mixed.
Currently, the major averages are just off their highs of the session. The Dow is up 93.78 points or 0.4 percent at 26,899.31, the Nasdaq is up 22.92 points or 0.3 percent at 8,208.71 and the S&P 500 is up 5.06 points or 0.2 percent at 3,015.35.
The modest strength on Wall Street comes as traders digest the latest batch of earnings news, with several big-name companies reporting their quarterly results.
Shares of Intel (INTC) have moved sharply higher after the semiconductor giant released its third quarter results, spiking by 6.9 percent to a six-month high.
Intel reported better than expected quarterly results, raised its full-year revenue guidance, and added $20 billion to its stock repurchase program.
Credit card giant Visa (V) is also posting a notable gain after reporting third quarter results that beat estimates and increasing its quarterly dividend by 20 percent.
Meanwhile, shares of Amazon (AMZN) have climbed well off their lows of the session but currently remain firmly in the red.
The drop by Amazon comes after the online retail giant reported weaker than expected third quarter earnings and provided a disappointing forecast for holiday sales.
On the U.S. economic front, revised data released by the University of Michigan on Friday showed U.S. consumer sentiment improved by slightly less than initially estimated in the month of October.
The report said the consumer sentiment index for October was downwardly revised to 95.5 from the preliminary reading of 96.0. Economists had expected the index to be unrevised.
Despite the downward revision, the consumer sentiment index for October was still up from the final September reading of 93.2.
'Sentiment was insignificantly below the mid month level, with the small loss spread over most components of the Index,' said Surveys of Consumers chief economist Richard Curtin.
He added, 'The overall level of consumer confidence has remained quite favorable and largely unchanged during the past few years.'
Gold stocks have shown a strong move to the upside in morning trading, benefiting from a notable increase by the price of the precious metal.
With gold for December delivery climbing $9 to $1,513.70 an ounce, the NYSE Arca Gold Bugs Index is jumping by 2.2 percent to its best intraday level in a month.
A positive reaction to the earnings news from Intel is also contributing to considerable strength among semiconductor stocks, as reflected by the 1.2 percent advance by the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index.
Steel, transportation and networking stocks are also seeing some strength on the day, while interest rate-sensitive utilities and commercial real estate stocks have moved to the downside.
In overseas trading, stock markets across the Asia-Pacific region moved mostly higher during trading on Friday. Japan's Nikkei 225 Index edged up by 0.2 percent, while China's Shanghai Composite Index rose by 0.5 percent.
Meanwhile, the major European markets are turning in a mixed performance on the day. While the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index is down by 0.4 percent, the German DAX Index is just above the unchanged line and the French CAC 40 Index is up by 0.4 percent.
In the bond market, treasuries have shown a lack of direction after ending yesterday's trading nearly flat. 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 1.768 percent.
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