WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - After showing some volatility early in the session, stocks are seeing moderate strength in mid-day trading on Wednesday. Buying interest has remained somewhat subdued, however, limiting the upside for the major averages.
Currently, the major averages are hovering in positive territory. The Dow is up 117.90 points or 0.4 percent at 28,840.75, the Nasdaq is up 29.18 points or 0.3 percent at 9,298.86 and the S&P 500 is up 10.55 points or 0.3 percent at 3,286.79.
The strength on Wall Street partly reflects a positive reaction to the latest batch of earnings news, although traders are also keeping an eye on news on the coronavirus front.
Shares of General Electric (GE) have moved sharply higher after the industrial conglomerate reported better than expected fourth quarter results.
Tech giant Apple (AAPL) is also posting a strong gain after reporting fiscal first quarter results that exceeded analyst estimates on strong iPhone sales and providing upbeat guidance for the current quarter.
On the other hand, shares of Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) have come under pressure after the chipmaker reported fourth quarter results that beat expectations but provided disappointing guidance.
Traders may also be reluctant to make significant moves ahead of the Federal Reserve's monetary policy announcement this afternoon.
The Fed is widely expected to leave interest rates unchanged, although the accompanying statement and Fed Chairman Jerome Powell's subsequent press conference will continue to attract attention.
In U.S. economic news, the National Association of Realtors released a report unexpectedly showing a sharp pullback in pending home sales in the month of December.
NAR said its pending home sales index plunged by 4.9 percent in December after jumping by 1.2 percent in November. Economists had expected pending home sales to rise by 0.5 percent.
A pending home sale is one in which a contract was signed but not yet closed. Normally, it takes four to six weeks to close a contracted sale.
Sector News
Transportation stocks continue to see considerable strength in mid-day trading, with the Dow Jones Transportation Average climbing by 1.4 percent.
Railroad operator Norfolk Southern (NSC) is posting a standout gain after reporting better than expected fourth quarter earnings.
On the other hand, telecom stocks have pulled back sharply, with the NYSE Arca North American Telecom Index slumping by 1.9 percent after ending the previous session at a three-month closing high.
Shares of AT&T (T) are seeing notable weakness after the telecom giant reported fourth quarter earnings that beat analyst estimates but weaker than expected revenues.
The steep drop by Advanced Micro Devices is also weighing on semiconductor stocks, which are moving lower along with networking stocks.
Other Markets
In overseas trading, stock markets across the Asia-Pacific region moved mostly higher during trading on Wednesday. Japan's Nikkei 225 advanced by 0.7 percent, while South Korea's Kospi rose by 0.4 percent after plunging by more than 3 percent on Tuesday.
The major European markets also moved to the upside on the day. While the French CAC 40 Index climbed by 0.5 percent, the German DAX Index edged up by 0.2 percent and the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index closed just above the unchanged line.
In the bond market, treasuries are rebounding following the pullback seen in the previous session. As a result, the yield on the benchmark ten-year note, which moves opposite of its price, is down by 2.4 basis points at 1.617 percent.
Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX