U.S. Stocks Mostly Higher Following Last Week’s Slump

Stocks are mostly higher in morning trading on Monday, partly offsetting the steep losses posted in the previous session. The major averages have all moved to the upside, although the tech-heavy Nasdaq is outperforming its counterparts.

The Dow has pulled back well off its highs of the session but currently remains up 137.19 points or 0.5 percent at 30,119.81. The Nasdaq is more firmly positive, up 192.19 points or 1.5 percent at 13,262.89, and the S&P 500 is up 34.20 points or 0.9 percent at 3,748.44.

The rebound on Wall Street comes as traders look to pick up stocks at somewhat reduced levels after the markets saw their biggest weekly decline since October.

Last week, the Nasdaq sank by 3.5 percent, while the Dow and the S&P 500 both slumped by 3.3 percent. The Dow ended last Friday’s trading at its lowest closing level in well over a month.

Traders continue to keep an eye on heavily-shorted stocks like GameStop (GME) and AMC Entertainment, which have seen considerable volatility amid speculative trading by retail investors.

Currently, share of GameStop are tumbling by 30.1 percent, while shares of AMC are up by 3.3 percent.

The markets have largely shrugged off a report from the Institute for Supply Management showing the pace of growth in U.S. manufacturing activity slowed more than expected in January.

The ISM said its manufacturing PMI declined to 58.7 in January from a downwardly revised 60.5 in December.

While a reading above 50 indicates continued growth in the manufacturing sector, economists had expected the index to show a more modest drop to 60.0.

Meanwhile, the Commerce Department released a separate report showing U.S. construction spending increased by slightly more than expected in the month of December.

Gold stocks have moved sharply higher in morning trading, driving the NYSE Arca Gold Bugs Index up by 2.1 percent.

The rally by gold stocks comes amid a notable increase by the price of the precious metal, with gold for February delivery jumping $18.70 to $1,866 an ounce.

Significant strength is also visible among semiconductor stocks, as reflected by the 2.1 percent gain being posted by the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index.

Software, networking and steel stocks are also seeing considerable strength on the day, moving higher along with most of the other major sectors.

In overseas trading, stock markets across the Asia-Pacific region moved mostly higher during trading on Monday. Japan’s Nikkei 225 Index jumped by 1.6 percent, while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index surged up by 2.2 percent.

The major European markets have also shown strong moves to the upside on the day. While the U.K.’s FTSE 100 Index is up by 0.9 percent, the French CAC 40 Index is up by 1.1 percent and the German DAX Index is up by 1.4 percent.

In the bond market, treasuries are regaining ground after moving notably lower over the two previous sessions. As a result, the yield on the benchmark ten-year note, which moves opposite of its price, is down by 1.6 basis points at 1.077 percent.