WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - Stocks have moved mostly higher during trading on Monday, regaining ground following the sell-off seen last Friday. The Nasdaq and the S&P 500 have climbed firmly into positive territory, although the narrower Dow is lingering near the unchanged line.
In recent trading, the major averages have reached new highs for the session. The Nasdaq is up 166.58 points or 0.9 percent at 18,846.70, the S&P 500 is up 32.59 points or 0.6 percent at 5,903.21 and the Dow is up 31.87 points or 0.1 percent at 43,476.86.
The strength on Wall Street may partly reflect bargain hunting, as traders look to pick up stocks at somewhat subdued levels following the steep drop seen last week.
The major averages pulled back well off their record highs last week amid concerns about the outlook for interest rates along with worries about the impact of President-elect Donald Trump's proposed policies and cabinet nominees.
Meanwhile, traders are also looking ahead to the release of quarterly results from AI darling Nvidia (NVDA).
Nvidia, which has recently been a driver of the markets, is scheduled to release its fiscal third quarter results after the close of trading on Wednesday.
In U.S. economic news, the National Association of Home Builders released a report showing homebuilder confidence has improved by much more than anticipated in the month of November.
The report said the NAHB/Wells Fargo Housing Market Index climbed to 46 in November after rising to 43 in October. Economists had expected the index to inch up to 44.
With the much bigger than expected increase, the housing market index reached its highest level since hitting 51 in April.
Sector News
Gold stocks have moved sharply higher on the day, resulting in a 4.5 percent spike by the NYSE Arca Gold Bugs Index.
The rally by gold stocks comes amid a substantial increase by the price of the precious metal, with gold for December delivery soaring $48.50 to $2,618.60 an ounce.
Considerable strength is also visible among computer hardware stocks, as reflected by the 2.9 percent surge by the NYSE Arca Computer Hardware Index.
Super Micro Computer (SMCI) is leading the sector higher after a report from Barron's said the company is expected to file a plan to avoid being delisted from the Nasdaq.
Natural gas, brokerage and steel stocks are also seeing significant strength, while airline stocks have shown a notable move to the downside.
Other Markets
In overseas trading, stock markets across the Asia-Pacific region turned in a mixed performance during trading on Monday. Japan's Nikkei 225 Index slumped by 1.1 percent, while Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index advanced by 0.8 percent.
The major European markets have also turned mixed on the day. While the German DAX Index is down by 0.1 percent, the French CAC 40 Index is up by 0.2 percent and the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index is up by 0.5 percent.
In the bond market, treasuries have moved modestly lower after ending last Friday's trading little changed. Subsequently, the yield on the benchmark ten-year note, which moves opposite of its price, is up by 2.3 basis points at 4.449 percent.
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