WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - Stocks turned in a lackluster performance early in the session on Thursday but have moved mostly higher over the course of the trading day. The major averages have all moved to the upside, with the Nasdaq and the S&P 500 advancing for the fourth straight day.
In recent trading, the major averages have reached new highs for the session. The Nasdaq is up 148.12 points or 0.9 percent at 17,543.65, the S&P 500 is up 33.15 points or 0.6 percent at 5,587.28 and the Dow is up 160.32 points or 0.4 percent at 41,022.03.
The strength that has emerged on Wall Street comes as trades remain optimistic about the outlook for interest rates following this week's inflation data.
While the data has seemingly reduced the likelihood the Federal Reserve will cut rates by 50 basis points next week, rates are still expected to be notably lower by the end of the year.
CME Group's FedWatch Tool currently suggests rates will lower by at least a full percentage point following the Fed's December meeting.
Before the start of trading, the Labor Department said its producer price index for final demand crept up by 0.2 percent in August, while revised data showed prices were unchanged in July.
Economists had expected producer prices to inch up by 0.1 percent, matching the uptick originally reported for the previous month.
At the same time, the report said the annual rate of producer price growth slowed to 1.7 percent in August from a downwardly revised 2.1 percent in July.
The year-over-year increase by producer prices was expected to decelerate to 1.8 percent from the 2.2 percent originally reported for the previous month.
'Core CPI surprised yesterday, and PPI came in hotter than forecast today, but we don't think we're at the start of a renewed rise in inflation,' said Nationwide Financial Markets Economist Oren Klachkin
'Rather, we think they are evidence of a bumpy path to 2%,' he added. 'A cooling economy and deflating labor market should dampen price pressures going forward.'
The Labor Department also released a separate report showing a modest increase by first-time claims for U.S. unemployment benefits in the week ended September 7th.
Sector News
Gold stocks continue to see substantial strength on the day, resulting in a 5.4 percent spike by the NYSE Arca Gold Bugs Index.
The rally by gold stocks comes amid a sharp increase by the price of the precious metal, with gold for December delivery jumping $39.10 to $2,581.50 an ounce.
Significant strength also remains visible among networking stocks, as reflected by the 3.1 percent surge by the NYSE Arca Networking Index.
Shares of Netgear (NTGR) have skyrocketed by 32.1 percent after the company raised its third quarter revenue guidance and said it has settled a patent dispute with TP-Link Systems.
Telecom, airline and housing stocks are also seeing considerable strength on the day, moving higher along with most of the other major sectors.
Other Markets
In overseas trading, stock markets across the Asia-Pacific region moved mostly higher during trading on Thursday. Japan's Nikkei 225 Index soared by 3.4 percent, while Hong Kong's Hang Index advanced by 0.8 percent.
The major European markets also moved to the upside on the day. While the German DAX Index jumped by 1.0 percent, the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index and the French CAC 40 Index climbed by 0.6 percent and 0.5 percent, respectively.
In the bond market, treasuries are extending the slight pullback seen in the previous session. As a result, the yield on the benchmark ten-year note, which moves opposite of its price, is up by 4.5 basis points at 3.698 percent.
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