WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - After trending higher over the past several sessions, stocks are seeing further upside during trading on Friday. The major averages have all climbed firmly into positive territory, nearly offsetting the steep losses posted last week.
In recent trading, the major averages have risen to new highs for the session. The Dow is up 352.28 points or 0.9 percent at 41,449.05, the Nasdaq is up 113.50 points or 0.7 percent at 17,683.18 and the S&P 500 is up 35.02 points or 0.6 percent at 5,630.78.
With the continued upward move on the day, the Nasdaq and the S&P 500 are poised to extend their winning streaks to five sessions.
Optimism about the outlook for interest rates has contributed to the continued strength on Wall Street ahead of the Federal Reserve's monetary policy meeting next week.
The Fed is scheduled to announce its latest monetary policy decision next Wednesday and is almost universally expected to lower interest rates by at least 25 basis points.
Recent inflation has partly offset optimism the Fed will lower rates more aggressively, but the central bank is still expected to continue cutting rates over the next several months.
Adding to the positive sentiment on Wall Street, the University of Michigan released a report showing consumer sentiment in the U.S. has improved by more than anticipated in the month of September.
The University of Michigan said its consumer sentiment index rose to 69.0 in September from 67.9 in August, while economists had expected the index to inch up to 68.0.
The report also showed a continued decrease by year-ahead inflation expectations, which fell for the fourth consecutive month.
Year-ahead inflation expectations edged down to 2.7 percent in September from 2.8 percent in August, hitting the lowest level since December 2020.
The Labor Department also released a report before the start of trading showing import prices in the U.S. decreased by slightly more than expected in the month of August.
Sector News
Steel stocks have shown a substantial move to the upside on the day, with the NYSE Arca Steel Index surging by 2.4 percent. The index continues to regain ground after hitting its lowest closing level in over ten months on Tuesday.
Considerable strength is also visible among interest rate-sensitive housing stocks, as reflected by the 2.4 percent jump by the Philadelphia Housing Sector Index.
Airline stocks are also seeing significant strength, driving the NYSE Arca Airline Index up by 2.0 percent to its best intraday level in over a month.
Gold, oil service and computer hardware stocks have also moved notably higher amid broad based buying interest on Wall Street.
Other Markets
In overseas trading, stock markets across the Asia-Pacific region turned in a mixed performance during trading on Friday. Japan's Nikkei 225 Index slid by 0.8 percent, while Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index increased by 0.8 percent.
Meanwhile, the major European markets have all moved to the upside on the day. While the German DAX Index is up by 1.0 percent, the French CAC 40 Index is up by 0.7 percent and the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index is up by 0.6 percent.
In the bond market, treasuries are seeing modest strength following the pullback seen over the two previous sessions. Subsequently, the yield on the benchmark ten-year note, which moves opposite of its price, is down by 1.6 basis points at 3.664 percent.
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