Stocks have moved modestly higher in morning trading on Friday, extending the rally seen over the two previous sessions. With the uptick on the day, the Nasdaq and the S&P 500 have reached new nine-month intraday highs.
Currently, the major averages are hovering in positive territory. The Dow is up 83.18 points or 0.3 percent at 33,619.09, the Nasdaq is up 19.17 points or 0.2 percent at 12,708.00 and the S&P 500 is up 14.02 points or 0.3 percent at 4,212.07.
The modest strength on Wall Street partly reflects continued optimism about an agreement on raising the U.S. debt ceiling following comments by House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif.
While McCarthy told reporters on Thursday that a deal hasn’t been reached, the GOP leader said he sees a “path that we can come to an agreement.”
“I think we have a structure now and everybody’s working hard,” McCarthy said. “And I mean we’re working two or three times a day, then going back getting more numbers.”
He added, “I just believe where we were a week ago and where we are today is a much better place, because we’ve got the right people in the room discussing it in a very professional manner, with all the knowledge, all the background from all the different leaders.”
Buying interest has been somewhat subdued, however, as traders look ahead to remarks by Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell.
Powell is due to participate in a Perspectives on Monetary Policy panel before the Thomas Laubach Research Conference later this morning, with traders likely to keep a close eye on his comments for clues about the outlook for interest rates.
Energy stocks are seeing considerable strength in morning trading, benefiting from an increase by the price of crude oil.
With crude for July delivery climbing $0.41 to $72.35 a barrel, the NYSE Arca Oil Index is up by 1.5 percent and the Philadelphia Oil service Index is up by 1.2 percent.
A surge by the price of natural gas is also contributing to significant strength among natural gas stocks, with the NYSE Arca Natural Gas Index up by 1.2 percent.
Pharmaceutical and biotechnology stocks have also moved notably higher, while some weakness is visible among housing and airline stocks.
In overseas trading, stock markets across the Asia-Pacific region turned in a mixed performance during trading on Friday. Japan’s Nikkei 225 Index advanced by 0.8 percent, while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index tumbled by 1.4 percent.
Meanwhile, the major European markets have all moved to the upside on the day. While the U.K.’s FTSE 100 Index has climbed by 0.6 percent, the German DAX Index and the French CAC 40 Index are both up by 1.0 percent.
In the bond market, treasuries are extending the downward trend seen over the past several sessions. As a result, the yield on the benchmark ten-year note, which moves opposite of its price, is up by 5.3 basis points at 3.701 percent.
Business News
U.S. Stocks Move Modestly Higher, Adding To Recent Gains
2023-05-19 14:40:09
