WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - Stocks have moved mostly higher during trading on Thursday, regaining ground after coming under pressure over the course of the previous session. The major averages have all moved to the upside, with the tech-heavy Nasdaq leading the charge.
Currently, the Nasdaq is just off its highs of the session, up 133.78 points or 0.6 percent at 22,874.17. The S&P 500 is also up 19.55 points or 0.3 percent at 6,718.95, while the narrower Dow is posting a more modest gain, up 17.33 points or less than a tenth of a percent at 46,607.74.
The advance by the Nasdaq partly reflects substantial strength among computer hardware stocks, as reflected by the 3.7 percent spike by the NYSE Arca Computer Hardware Index.
SanDisk (SNDK) has helped lead the sector higher, with the data storage device maker soaring by 12.3 percent to a record intraday high.
A surge by the price of crude oil is also contributing to significant strength among energy stocks, driving both the Philadelphia Oil Service Index and the NYSE Arca Oil Index up by 2.9 percent.
Crude for December delivery is leaping $2.91 to $61.41 a barrel after the Trump administration announced sanctions on Russia's two largest oil companies.
The Treasury Department announced sanctions against Rosneft and Lukoil, citing Russia's 'lack of serious commitment to a peace process to end the war in Ukraine.'
President Donald Trump recently expressed some optimism about ending the drawn-out Russia-Ukraine war before suddenly canceling a planned meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Networking, steel and semiconductor stocks are also seeing considerable strength on the day, while transportation stocks have shown a notable move to the downside.
The strength on Wall Street comes despite a negative reaction to corporate earnings news from companies like Tesla (TSLA) and IBM Corp. (IBM).
Shares of Tesla have slumped by 2.4 percent after the electric vehicle maker reported weaker than expected third quarter earnings despite record sales.
Tech giant IBM has also tumbled by 3.7 percent after reporting third quarter earnings that exceeded analyst estimates but slowing growth in its core cloud computing business.
On the other hand, shares of Honeywell (HON) have shot up by 6.9 percent after the industrial giant reported third quarter results that beat estimates on both the top and bottom lines.
In U.S. economic news, a report released by the National Association of Realtors showed existing home sales in the U.S. increased in line with economist estimates in the month of September.
NAR said existing home sales jumped by 1.5 percent to an annual rate of 4.06 million in September after dipping by 0.2 percent to an annual rate of 4.00 million in August. The rebound matched expectations.
In overseas trading, stock markets across the Asia-Pacific region turned in a mixed performance on Thursday. Japan's Nikkei 225 Index tumbled by 1.4 percent, while China's Shanghai Composite Index edged up by 0.2 percent and Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index climbed by 0.7 percent.
Meanwhile, the major European markets have all moved to the upside on the day. U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index is up by 0.7 percent, the French CAC 40 Index is up by 0.4 percent and the German DAX Index is up by 0.2 percent.
In the bond market, treasuries are giving back ground after trending higher over the past several sessions. Subsequently, the yield on the benchmark ten-year note, which moves opposite of its price, is up by 3.3 basis points at 3.986 percent.
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