WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - After showing a strong move to the upside early in the session, stocks have given back some ground over the course of the trading day on Friday but remain mostly positive. With the upward move, the major averages are partly offsetting the steep losses posted in the previous session.
Currently, the Dow is up 374.13 points or 0.7 percent at 53,133.34, the S&P 500 is up 30.75 points or 0.4 percent at 7,671.91 and the Nasdaq is up 66.86 points or 0.3 percent at 26,134.03.
The initial strength on Wall Street may partly have reflected bargain hunting, with traders picking up stocks at relatively reduced levels following yesterday's weakness.
The major averages all moved sharply lower during trading on Thursday amid an extended surge in crude oil prices and a rebound in bond yields.
Buying interest may also have been generated in reaction to a pullback by the price of crude oil, with U.S. crude oil futures slipping by 0.4 percent after spiking by nearly 3 percent in the previous session.
Crude oil prices extended their recent rally in early morning trading amid lingering concerns about the standoff in the Middle East. but have turned lower over the course of the session.
Nonetheless, traders may be reluctant to make more significant moves ahead of key events next week, including the release of Nvidia's (NVDA) quarterly results and the Jackson Hole economic symposium.
'Next week's results from Nvidia could put some of the focus back on corporate earnings but, as we head towards the autumn, a chill has started to descend for markets,' said Dan Coatsworth, head of markets at AJ Bell.
He added, 'Investors will be looking for a comfort blanket when Federal Reserve chair Kevin Warsh addresses the Jackson Hole meeting at the end of this month.'
Sector News
Brokerage stocks have shown a substantial move to the upside on the day, driving the NYSE Arca Broker/Dealer Index up by 3.3 percent to a record intraday high.
A sharp increase by the price of gold is also contributing to significant strength among gold stocks, with the NYSE Arca Gold Bugs Index climbing by 1.7 percent. Earlier in the session, the index reached its best intraday level in four months.
Pharmaceutical, healthcare and biotechnology stocks are also seeing considerable strength, while utilities and semiconductor stocks are showing notable moves to the downside.
Other Markets
In overseas trading, stock markets across the Asia-Pacific region turned in a mixed performance on Friday. Japan's Nikkei 2525 Index fell by 0.3 percent, while China's Shanghai Composite closed marginally higher and Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index jumped by 1.2 percent.
Meanwhile, the major European markets have all moved to the upside on the day. While the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index is up by 0.7 percent, the German DAX Index is up by 0.6 percent and the French CAC 40 Index is up by 0.4 percent.
In the bond market, treasuries have come under pressure over the course of the session. As a result, the yield on the benchmark ten-year note, which moves opposite of its price, is up by 3.4 basis points at 4.730 percent.
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