WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - Stocks remain mostly positive in mid-day trading on Monday after showing a strong move to the upside earlier in the session. The major averages are adding to last Friday's gains, with the Nasdaq reaching its best intraday level in well over a month.
In recent trading, the major averages have pulled back off their highs but remain firmly positive. The Dow is up 277.00 points or 1.2 percent at 24,052.27, the Nasdaq is up 98.87 points or 1.2 percent at 8,733.39 and the S&P 500 is up 35.95 points or 1.3 percent at 2,872.69.
The strength on Wall Street comes after New York Governor Andrew Cuomo announced plans for a phased reopening of his state's economy.
Cuomo suggested the first phase, which involves 'low risk' businesses in the manufacturing and construction sectors, could begin shortly after New York's stay-at-home order expires on May 15.
The decision to announce the reopening plans comes as New York has seen as steady decline in coronavirus hospitalization rates, with Cuomo expressing optimism the worst is over.
'The numbers are on the decline. Everything we have done is working,' Cuomo said during a press briefing on Sunday, 'There's no doubt that we've gone at this point through the worst. And as long as we act prudently going forward, the worst should be over.'
The announcement by Cuomo comes as other states, including several led by Republican governors, have already started reopening their economies.
Buying interest has also been generated due to optimism about additional stimulus ahead of Federal Reserve and European Central Bank meetings later this week.
Earlier today, the Bank of Japan expanded its monetary stimulus for the second straight month to support economic and financial activities amid the coronavirus pandemic.
Sector News
Financial stocks continue to turn in some of the market's best performances in mid-day trading, with the KBW Bank Index and the NYSE Arca Broker/Dealer Index spiking by 4.5 percent and 3.8 percent, respectively.
Significant strength also remains visible among housing stocks, as reflected by the 3.4 percent jump by the Philadelphia Housing Sector Index.
Networking, commercial real estate, tobacco and steel stocks are also seeing considerable strength, moving higher along with most of other major sectors.
Meanwhile, gold stocks are bucking the uptrend amid a decrease by the price of the precious metal, with the NYSE Arca Gold Bugs Index sliding by 1.3 percent.
Other Markets
In overseas trading, stock markets across the Asia-Pacific region moved mostly higher during trading on Monday. Japan's Nikkei 225 Index spiked by 2.7 percent, while Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index jumped by 1.9 percent.
The major European markets also showed significant moves to the upside on the day. While the German DAX Index soared by 23.1 percent, the French CAC 40 Index surged up by 2.6 percent and the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index advanced by 1.6 percent.
In the bond market, treasuries have moved notably lower over the course of the session. Subsequently, the yield on the benchmark ten-year note, which moves opposite of its price, is up by 4.9 basis points at 0.645 percent.
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