U.S. Stocks Continue To Recover From Recent Lows
Stocks have moved notably higher in morning trading on Friday, extending the strong upward move seen over the two previous sessions. With the continued advance, the major averages are on pace to snap a three-week losing streak.
Currently, the major averages are just off their highs of the session. The Dow is up 270.17 points or 0.9 percent at 32,044.69, the Nasdaq is up 171.22 points or 1.4 percent at 12,033.35 and the S&P 500 is up 42.54 points or 1.1 percent at 4,408.72.
Stocks continue to benefit from bargain hunting, as the major averages extend the recovery from their worst levels in over a month.
Traders seem to be coming to terms with the likelihood of another 75 basis point interest rate hike by the Federal Reserve later this month.
Worries about the impact of the Fed’s aggressive interest rate hike strategy may continue to lead to some trepidation, but many feel higher rates have been priced into the markets following recent weakness.
Steel stocks have moved sharply higher in morning trading, resulting in a 3.1 percent spike by the NYSE Arca Steel Index.
Substantial strength has also emerged among oil service stocks, as reflected by the 3.1 percent surge by the Philadelphia Oil Service Index.
The rally by oil service stocks comes amid a sharp increase by the price of crude oil, with crude for October delivery jumping $2.35 to $85.89 a barrel.
Computer hardware, semiconductor and transportation 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 Friday. Japan’s Nikkei 225 Index rose by 0.5 percent, while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index spiked by 2.7 percent.
The major European markets have also shown strong moves to the upside on the day. While the French CAC 40 Index has jumped by 1.7 percent, the German DAX Index and the U.K.’s FTSE 100 Index are both up by 1.5 percent.
In the bond market, treasuries have shown a lack of direction over the course of the morning. 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 3.283 percent.
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