WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - After moving sharply higher early in the session, stocks continue to see substantial strength in mid-day trading on Tuesday. With the strong upward move on the day, the major averages have reached their best intraday levels in over a month.
The tech-heavy Nasdaq has seen some further upside in recent trading, reached a new high for the session. Currently, the Nasdaq is up 289.14 points or 3.5 percent at 8,481.56, the Dow is up 545.48 points or 2.3 percent at 23,936.25 and the S&P 500 is up 75.17 points or 2.7 percent at 2,836.80.
The rally on Wall Street comes as traders continue to express optimism about signs of a flattening of the coronavirus curve.
In a press briefing on Monday, President Donald Trump defended his administration's response to the pandemic and indicated he is working on plans to re-open the country.
Other officials, such as White House health advisor Dr. Anthony Fauci and New York Governor Andrew Cuomo, have also recently expressed cautious optimism.
Encouraging exports data out of China has also helped ease fears of the pandemic resulting in a deep global recession.
In dollar terms, Chinese exports decreased 6.6 percent on a yearly basis in March, data from the General Administration of Customs revealed. This was much slower than the expected decrease of 14 percent.
Traders are also digesting the latest corporate results as earnings season gets underway, with healthcare giant Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) moving sharply higher after reporting first quarter results that exceeded analyst estimates and raising its quarterly dividend.
On the other hand, JPMorgan (JPM) and Wells Fargo (WFC) have come under pressure after both financial giants reported weaker than expected first quarter earnings.
Sector News
Retail stocks have moved sharply higher over the course of the session, driving the Dow Jones U.S. Retail Index up by 4 percent to its best intraday level in well over a month.
Significant strength also remains visible among semiconductor stocks, as reflected by the 3.9 percent spike by the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index.
Semiconductor stocks are benefiting from Chinese government data showing iPhone sales in China rebounded dramatically in March to about 2.5 million.
Gold stocks have shown a substantial move to the upside on the day, with the NYSE Arca Gold Bugs Index jumping by 3.5 percent. The rally by gold stocks comes as the price of the precious metal has reached a new seven-year high.
Software, networking and pharmaceutical stocks are also seeing considerable strength in mid-day trading, while banking stocks have come under pressure on the disappointing earnings news.
Other Markets
In overseas trading, stock markets across the Asia-Pacific region moved mostly higher during trading on Tuesday. Japan's Nikkei 225 Index surged up by 3.1 percent, while China's Shanghai Composite Index jumped by 1.6 percent.
Meanwhile, the major European markets turned in a mixed performance on the day. While the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index slid by 0.9 percent, the French CAC 40 Index rose by 0.4 percent and the German DAX Index shot up by 1.3 percent.
In the bond market, treasuries are seeing modest strength after showing a lack of direction earlier in the session. As a result, the yield on the benchmark ten-year note, which moves opposite of its price, is down by 1.9 basis points at 0.730 percent.
Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX
© 2020 AFX News
