WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - After seeing considerable volatility early in the session, stocks have moved mostly higher over the course of the trading day on Monday. With the advance, the major averages are extending the rebound seen in recent sessions.
Currently, the Nasdaq is up 145.87 points or 0.9 percent at 16,891.17, the S&P 500 is up 26.61 points or 0.5 percent at 5,370.77 and the Dow is up 9.07 points or less than a tenth of a percent at 39,506.61.
Easing concerns about the outlook for economy have contributed to continued buying on Wall Street following the steep drop seen earlier this month.
Overall trading activity remains somewhat subdued, however, as traders look ahead to the release of several key economic reports later this week.
The Labor Department is scheduled to release reports on producer and consumer price inflation on Tuesday and Wednesday, respectively, with the data likely to impact the outlook for interest rates.
The Federal Reserve is widely expected to cut interest rates next month, with CME Group's FedWatch Tool currently indicating a split regarding the probability of a quarter or half point rate cut.
In light of recent concerns about the outlook for the economy, traders are also likely to keep a close eye on reports on retail sales and industrial production.
Gold stocks are turning in some of the market's best performances on the day, resulting in a 2.5 percent surge by the NYSE Arca Gold Bugs Index.
The rally by gold stocks comes amid an increase by the price of the precious metal, with gold for December delivery climbing $19.40 to $2,492.80 an ounce.
Considerable strength is also visible among computer hardware stocks, as reflected by the 1.6 percent gain being posted by the NYSE Arca Computer Hardware Index.
Semiconductor and oil services have also moved notably higher on the day, while telecom and airline stocks are seeing significant weakness.
In overseas trading, stock markets across the Asia-Pacific region moved mostly higher during trading on Monday, with the Japanese markets closed for a holiday. South Korea's Kospi jumped by 1.2 percent, while Australia's S&P/ASX 200 Index climbed by 0.5 percent.
Meanwhile, the major European markets are turning in a mixed performance on the day. While the French CAC 40 Index is down by 0.1 percent, the German DAX Index is up by 0.1 percent and the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index is up by 0.5 percent.
In the bond market, treasuries have shown a lack of direction ahead of key economic data later this week. As a result, the yield on the benchmark ten-year note, which moves opposite of its price, is up by less than a basis point at 3.947 percent.
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