WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - After coming under pressure early in the session, stocks have shown a significant turnaround over the course of the trading day on Tuesday. The major averages have climbed off their early lows and into positive territory, with the Dow jumping to its highest intraday level in over a month.
Currently, the major averages are just off their highs of the session. The Dow is up 718.14 points or 1.4 percent at 52,684.17, the S&P 500 is up 57.12 points or 0.7 percent at 7,747.85 and the Nasdaq is up 158.14 points or 0.6 percent at 26,589.03.
The notable advance by the Dow comes amid a sharp increase by shares of 3M (MMM), with the industrial conglomerate spiking by 6.2 percent.
3M is rallying after the Scotch-tape and Post-it maker reported better than expected third quarter earnings and raised its full-year profit forecast.
Dow components Merck (MRK), UnitedHealth (UNH) and Amgen (AMGN) are also posting significant gains on the day.
The strength that has emerged in the broader markets comes amid a substantial downturn by the price of crude oil.
After skyrocketing as much as 6.6 percent and topping $110 a barrel earlier in the day, U.S. crude oil futures are tumbling by 2 percent.
Crude oil futures have pulled back sharply despite lingering concerns about tensions in the Middle East due to Houthi attacks on Saudi Arabian infrastructure and reports of vessel attacks in the Strait of Hormuz.
Buying interest may also have been generated in reaction to a decrease in treasury yields, which are giving back ground after moving higher on Monday.
Treasury yields moved to the downside following the release of weaker-than-expected housing data, with separate reports showing steep drops in new residential construction and pending home sales.
Sector News
Airline stocks have moved sharply higher over the course of the session, with the NYSE Arca Airline Index soaring by 5.1 percent after hitting its lowest intraday level in over a year in early trading.
Substantial strength has also emerged among pharmaceutical stocks, as reflected by the 3 percent surge by the NYSE Arca Pharmaceutical Index. The index has reached a nearly two-month intraday high.
Housing stocks have also shown a significant move to the upside, driving the Philadelphia Housing Sector Index up by 2.6 percent.
Biotechnology, healthcare and financial stocks are also seeing considerable strength, while oil producer stocks have come under pressure over the course of the session.
Other Markets
In overseas trading, stock markets across the Asia-Pacific region moved mostly lower during trading on Tuesday. Japan's Nikkei 225 Index and Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index both slumped by 1.3 percent, while South Korea's Kospi plunged by 3.7 percent.
Meanwhile, the major European markets have turned mixed on the day. While the German DAX Index is up by 0.2 percent, the French CAC 40 Index is just below the unchanged line and the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index is down by 0.2 percent.
In the bond market, treasuries have moved back to the upside following the weakness seen on Monday. Subsequently, the yield on the benchmark ten-year note, which moves opposite of its price, is down by 4.2 basis points at 5.094 percent.
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