WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - After moving to the upside early in the session, stocks remain mostly positive in mid-day trading on Monday. The S&P 500 reached a new record intraday high earlier in the day but has given back some ground since then.
Currently, the major averages are off their best levels but holding on to gains. The Dow is up 105.58 points or 0.4 percent at 27,063.64, the Nasdaq is up 78.06 points or 1 percent at 8,321.18 and the S&P 500 is up 16.04 points or 0.5 percent at 3,038.59.
The strength on Wall Street comes amid continued optimism about U.S.-China trade talks as well as news that the European Union has granted the U.K.'s request for a Brexit deadline extension.
The move by the EU, which delays Brexit until January 31st, was widely expected but still removes the risk of a damaging no-deal split on Thursday.
News on the merger-and-acquisition from has also generated some buying interest, with shares of Tiffany (TIF) soaring after French luxury goods maker LVMH confirmed it is talks to acquire the jeweler.
Reports suggest LVMH's bid would value Tiffany at about $120 per share or $14.5 billion. Tiffany ended last Friday's trading at $98.55 a share.
Liberty Property Trust (LPT) has also moved sharply higher after agreeing to be acquired by rival commercial real estate firm Prologis (PLD) in an all-stock deal valued at $12.6 billion.
Shares of FitBit (FIT) have also spiked in recent trading after a report from Reuters said Google parent Alphabet (GOOGL) has offered to acquire the wearable device maker.
The end of a 40-day strike at auto giant General Motors (GM) has added to the positive sentiment, as members of the United Auto Workers union approved a new four-year contract.
Buying interest has waned from early in the session, however, as traders look ahead to the Federal Reserve's monetary policy announcement on Wednesday.
CME Group's FedWatch Tool is currently indicating a 94.1 percent chance that the Fed will cut interest rates by another 25 basis points.
Some closely watched economic data is also scheduled to be released later this week, including the Labor Department's monthly jobs report on Friday.
Sector News
Software stocks continue to see considerable strength in mid-day trading, with the Dow Jones U.S. Software Index up by 1.6 percent. Earlier in the session, the index reached its best intraday level in almost three months.
Industry giant Microsoft (MSFT) is posting a strong gain after beating out Amazon (AMZN) for a $10 billion cloud computing contract with the Pentagon.
Significant strength also remains visible among semiconductor stocks, as reflected by the 1.7 percent jump by the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index. The index has climbed to a new record intraday high.
Telecom stocks are also turning in a strong performance on the day, with AT&T (T) leading the way higher after reporting better than expected third quarter earnings and unveiling a three-year capital allocation plan.
Steel, biotechnology, and brokerage stocks are also seeing notable strength in mid-day trading, while gold stocks have moved sharply lower along with the price of the precious metal.
Other Markets
In overseas trading, stock markets across the Asia-Pacific region moved mostly higher during trading on Monday. Japan's Nikkei 225 Index rose by 0.3 percent, while China's Shanghai Composite Index advanced by 0.9 percent.
The major European markets also moved to the upside on the day. While the U.K.s FTSE 100 Index edged up by 0.2 percent, the French CAC 40 Index and the German DAX Index climbed by 0.4 percent and 0.5 percent, respectively.
In the bond market, treasuries are extending the notable downward move seen last Friday. Subsequently, the yield on the benchmark ten-year note, which moves opposite of its price, is up by 5.5 basis points at 1.856 percent.
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