U.S. Stocks Showing Strong Move Back To The Upside

After initially showing a lack of direction, stocks have moved sharply higher over the course of morning trading on Tuesday. The major averages have all climbed firmly into positive territory after ending the previous session modestly lower.

The major averages have seen further upside in recent trading, reaching new highs for the session. The Dow is up 395.06 points or 1.2 percent at 34,806.75, the Nasdaq is up 171.43 points or 1.3 percent at 13,503.79 and the S&P 500 is up 50.27 points or 1.1 percent at 4,441.96.

The strength that has emerged on Wall Street may partly reflect bargain hunting after the modest drop seen on Monday dragged the Nasdaq and the S&P 500 down to their lowest closing levels in a month.

Traders have also reacted positively to some of the latest earnings news, with Hasbro (HAS) posting a strong gain after the toy maker reported first quarter earnings that missed analyst estimates but raised its full-year profit forecast.

Shares of Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) have also shown a strong move to the upside after the healthcare giant reported better than expected first quarter earnings. Traders seem to have shrugged off J&J’s lower full-year guidance.

On the other hand, insurance giant Travelers (TRV) has moved sharply lower despite reporting earnings that beat analyst estimates.

IBM Corp. (IBM) and Netflix (NFLX) are among the companies reporting their results after the close of today’s trading, while Procter & Gamble (PG), Tesla (TSLA), AT&T (T), American Express (AXP), and Verizon (VZ) are also due to repot their results this week.

In U.S. economic news, the Commerce Department released a report showing new residential construction expectedly saw modest growth in the month of March.

The report showed housing starts rose by 0.3 percent to an annual rate of 1.793 million in March after spiking by 6.5 percent to a revised rate of 1.788 million in February.

The uptick surprised economists, who had expected housing starts to fall by 1.4 percent to a rate of 1.745 million from the 1.769 million originally reported for the previous month.

The Commerce Department said building permits also climbed by 0.4 percent to an annual rate of 1.873 million in March after slumping by 1.6 to a revised rate of 1.865 million in February.

Building permits, an indicator of future housing demand, had been expected tumble by 1.8 percent to a rate of 1.825 million from the 1.859 million originally reported for the previous month.

Airline stocks have moved sharply higher over the course of the morning, with the NYSE Arca Airline Index soaring by 2.9 percent.

The rally by airline stocks comes after a federal judge in Florida struck down the Biden administration’s mask mandate for airplanes and other public transportation.

The upbeat housing starts data has also contributed to considerable strength among housing stocks, as reflected by the 2.1 percent jump by the Philadelphia Housing Sector Index.

Banking stocks are also turning in a strong performance amid a continued increase in Treasury yields, with the KBW Bank Index climbing by 1.8 percent.

Commercial real estate, retail and brokerage stocks have also moved notably higher, while gold stocks are bucking the uptrend amid a pullback by the price of the precious metal.

In overseas trading, stock markets across the Asia-Pacific region turned in a mixed performance during trading on Tuesday. Japan’s Nikkei 225 Index advanced by 0.7 percent, while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index plunged by 2.3 percent.

Meanwhile, European stocks have climbed off their worst levels of the day but remain mostly lower. While the French CAC 40 Index is down 0.6 percent, the German DAX Index is down by 0.1 percent and the U.K.’s FTSE 100 Index is just below the unchanged line.

In the bond market, treasuries have come under pressure over the course of the morning, extending a recent downward trend. Subsequently, the yield on the benchmark ten-year note, which moves opposite of its price, is up by 6.3 basis points at 2.925 percent.

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