WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - Stocks have moved mostly higher during trading on Friday, extending the strong upward move seen over the course of the previous session. With the continued advance, the Nasdaq and the S&P 500 have reached new record intraday highs.
Currently, the major averages are well off their highs of the session but still in positive territory. The Nasdaq is up 206.96 points or 0.8 percent at 25,099.27, the S&P 500 is up 37.32 points or 0.5 percent at 7,246.33 and the Dow is up 85.54 points or 0.2 percent at 49,737.68.
The continued strength on Wall Street comes amid a sharp increase by shares of Apple (AAPL), with the tech giant surging by 3.9 percent.
Apple is closing in on the record intraday high set last December after reporting better than expected fiscal second quarter results and forecasting revenues for the current quarter above analyst estimates.
Buying interest may also have been generated in reaction to an extended pullback by the price of crude oil, with U.S. crude oil futures tumbling by more than 3 percent.
U.S. crude oil futures showed a significant downturn on Thursday, slumping by 1.7 percent after reaching their highest levels in four years.
The continued decrease by crude oil prices comes after an Axios reporter said Iran has delivered its response to the latest U.S. amendments on the agreement to end the war through Pakistani mediators.
In U.S. economic news, the Institute for Supply Management released a report showing manufacturing activity expanded for the fourth consecutive month in April.
The ISM said its manufacturing PMI came in at 52.7 in April, unchanged from March. While a reading above 50 still indicates growth, economists had expected the index to inch up to 53.0.
Sector News
Airline stocks have shown a significant move to the upside on the day, driving the NYSE Arca Airline Index up by 2.2 percent
Software stocks are also seeing considerable strength after falling sharply on Thursday, with the Dow Jones U.S. Software Index jumping by 1.9 percent.
Continued strength is also visible among pharmaceutical stocks following yesterday's rally, while energy stocks are moving lower along with the price of crude oil.
Other Markets
In overseas trading, stock markets across the Asia-Pacific region moved mostly higher on Friday, with several major markets closed for the day. Japan's Nikkei 225 Index rose by 0.4 percent, while Australia's S&P/ASX 200 Index climbed by 0.7 percent.
Meanwhile, most major European markets are closed for May Day, but U.K. stocks have shown a modest move to the downside. The U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index is currently down by 0.1 percent.
In the bond market, treasuries are extending the rebound 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 2.2 basis points at 4.368 percent.
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