U.S. Stocks Remain Mostly Higher In Mid-Day Trading

Following the modestly lower close seen in the previous session, stocks have moved mostly higher during trading on Wednesday. The major averages have all moved to the upside, although the tech-heavy Nasdaq is outperforming its counterparts.

Currently, the major averages all remain in positive territory. While the Nasdaq is up 83.25 points or 0.6 percent at 13,740.43, the Dow is up 70.61 points or 0.2 percent at 34,383.07 and the S&P 500 is up 11.57 points or 0.3 percent at 4,199.70.

The strength on Wall Street may partly reflect continued economic optimism as the country continues to reopen following the coronavirus pandemic.

Shares of Royal Caribbean (RCL) are seeing notable strength after the cruise operator became the first to receive approval from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to begin test sailing in U.S. waters.

Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings (NCLH) has also moved to the upside after announcing the next phase of its planned resumption of cruising across its three cruise lines, revealing plans for eight additional ships to relaunch beginning this fall.

The news from the cruise lines comes amid other signs of the steady reopening of the economy as an increasing number of Americans receive a coronavirus vaccine.

Upbeat earnings news from retailers such as Dick’s Sporting Goods (DKS), Urban Outfitters (URBN) and Abercrombie & Fitch (ANF) has added to the positive sentiment.

Nonetheless, buying interest remains somewhat subdued as traders continue to look ahead to a closely watched reaching on inflation on Friday.

Sector News

Oil service stocks have moved sharply higher over the course of the session, resulting in a 2.4 percent jump by the Philadelphia Oil Service Index.

The rally by oil service stocks comes as the price of crude oil has turned higher over the course of the day, with crude for July delivery rising $0.16 to $66.23 a barrel after falling as low as $65.25 a barrel.

Optimism about the country reopening also continues to contribute to strength among airline stocks, as reflected by the 1.9 percent gain being posted by the NYSE Arca Airline Index.

Housing stocks also continue to turn in a strong performance in mid-day trading, driving the Philadelphia Housing Sector Index up by 1.7 percent.

Luxury homebuilder Toll Brothers (TOL) is posting a standout gain after reporting better than expected fiscal second quarter results.

Computer hardware and brokerage stocks are also seeing notable strength on the day, while most of the other major sectors are showing more modest moves to the upside.

Other Markets

In overseas trading, stock markets across the Asia-Pacific region turned in a mixed performance during trading on Wednesday. Japan’s Nikkei 225 Index rose by 0.3 percent, while Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 Index fell by 0.3 percent.

Meanwhile, the major European markets turned in a lackluster performance on the day. While the French CAC 40 Index closed marginally higher, the U.K.’s FTSE 100 Index closed just below the unchanged line and the German DAX Index edged down by 0.1 percent.

In the bond market, treasuries are nearly flat after trending higher over the past few sessions. As a result, the yield on the benchmark ten-year note, which moves opposite of its price, is down by less than a basis point at 1.560 percent.