U.S. Stocks Move Mostly Higher Following Recent Weakness

Stocks have moved mostly higher during trading on Monday, regaining ground following recent weakness. The major averages have all moved back to the upside after posting steep losses last week.

Currently, the major averages are off their highs of the session but still in positive territory. The Dow is up 289.35 points or 0.9 percent at 32,706.94, the Nasdaq is up 88.02 points or 0.7 percent at 12,731.03 and the S&P 500 is up 25.63 points or 0.6 percent at 4,143.00.

The rebound on Wall Street is partly due to bargain hunting, with traders picking up stocks at reduced levels following last week’s sell-off.

The Dow slumped to its lowest closing level in seven months last Friday, while the S&P 500 slid to a new five-month closing low.

The steep drop seen last week reflected ongoing concerns about the outlook for interest rates as well as worries about the conflict in the Middle East.

Overall trading activity remains somewhat subdued, however, as some traders are sticking to the sidelines ahead of the Federal Reserve’s monetary policy announcement on Wednesday.

With the Fed widely expected to leave interest rates unchanged, traders will pay close attention to the accompanying statement for clues about the potential for further rate hikes.

Following the Fed announcement, the Labor Department’s closely watched monthly employment report is likely to move into the spotlight later in the week.

Sector News

Pharmaceutical stocks are seeing considerable strength on the day, with the NYSE Arca Pharmaceutical Index climbing by 1.4 percent after ending last Friday’s trading at a three-month closing low.

Significant strength is also visible among software stocks, as reflected by the 1.3 percent gain being posted by the Dow Jones U.S. Software Index.

Retail, airline and telecom stocks are also seeing notable strength on the day, while networking stocks have shown a substantial move to the downside.

The NYSE Arca Networking Index has plunged by 3.5 percent, with CommScope Holding (COMM) leading the way lower after warning of weaker than expected third quarter results and lowering its full-year guidance.

Semiconductor, gold and natural gas stocks have also moved to the downside on the day, partly offsetting the strength in the aforementioned sectors.

Other Markets

In overseas trading, stock markets across the Asia-Pacific region turned in a mixed performance during trading on Monday. Japan’s Nikkei 225 Index slumped by 1.0 percent, while China’s Shanghai Composite Index inched up by 0.1 percent.

Meanwhile, the major European markets have all moved to the upside on the day. While the German DAX Index is up by 0.1 percent, the French CAC 40 Index is up by 0.5 percent and the U.K.’s FTSE 100 Index is up by 0.6 percent.

In the bond market, treasuries have moved lower after ending the previous session roughly flat. As a result, the yield on the benchmark ten-year note, which moves opposite of its price, is up by 5.8 basis points at 4.903 percent.

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