WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - Stocks showed a lack of direction early in the session but a mostly positive in early afternoon trading on Tuesday. The major averages are all in positive territory, partly offsetting the sharp pullback seen in the previous session.
The major averages have moved roughly sideways in recent trading, holding on to gains. The Dow is up 147.40 points or 0.5 percent at 30,371.29, the Nasdaq is up 57.71 points or 0.5 percent at 12,756.16 and the S&P 500 is up 17.27 points or 0.5 percent at 3,717.92.
The strength on Wall Street comes as traders remain optimistic about an economic recovery despite the recent spike in coronavirus cases.
Adding to the positive sentiment, a report released by the Institute for Supply Management showed an unexpected acceleration in the pace of growth in manufacturing activity in the month of December.
The ISM said its manufacturing PMI climbed to 60.7 in December after dipping to 57.5 in November, with a reading above 50 indicating growth. Economists had expected the index to edge down to 56.6.
With the unexpected increase, the manufacturing index reached its highest level since hitting 61.3 in August of 2018.
However, economists noted the headline index was artificially boosted by a jump by the supplier deliveries index, which suggested deliveries slowed at a faster rate.
Buying interest has also been kept somewhat in check as traders await the results of two key Senate runoffs in Georgia.
The outcome of the runoff elections will determine which party controls the Senate and could have a major impact on what President-elect Joe Biden is able to accomplish.
Even with a Democratic-controlled Senate, Biden may still face difficulty pushing through his proposed tax policies but could have more success on issues like government spending, including increasing the size of stimulus checks.
Sector News
Energy stocks continue to see substantial strength on the day, benefiting from a sharp increase by the price of crude oil.
Crude oil for February delivery is spiking $2.23 to $49.85 a barrel amid reports oil producers have agreed to keep output steady in February.
Reflecting the strength in the energy sector, the Philadelphia Oil Service Index is up by 7.2 percent, the NYSE Arca Oil Index is up by 5.9 percent and the NYSE Arca Natural Gas Index is up by 5.6 percent.
Significant strength has also emerged among steel stocks, as reflected by the 2.8 percent jump by the NYSE Arca Steel Index. The index has reached its best intraday level in well over two years.
Airline, chemical and banking stocks are also seeing considerable strength, while gold stocks are giving back ground after yesterday's rally.
Other Markets
In overseas trading, stock markets across the Asia-Pacific region turned in a mixed performance on Tuesday. Japan's Nikkei 225 Index fell by 0.4 percent, while China's Shanghai Composite Index advanced by 0.7 percent.
The major European markets also finished the day mixed. While the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index rose by 0.6 percent, the French CAC 40 Index dropped by 0.4 percent and the German DAX Index slid by 0.6 percent.
In the bond market, treasuries have moved to the downside after ending the previous session nearly flat. As a result, the yield on the benchmark ten-year note, which moves opposite of its price, is up by 4.1 basis points at 0.958 percent.
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