U.S. Stocks Extending Recent Move To The Upside

Stocks have moved mostly higher during trading on Monday, extending the strong upward move seen over the two previous sessions. With the advance, the major averages continue to climb off their recent lows.

Currently, the major averages are off their highs of the session but still firmly positive. The Dow is up 138.63 points or 0.4 percent at 33,529.60, the Nasdaq is up 101.16 points or 0.9 percent at 11,790.17 and the S&P 500 is up 25.77 points or 0.6 percent at 4,71.41.

The extended upward move on Wall Street partly reflects strength among technology stocks, as reflected by the notable advance by the tech-heavy Nasdaq.

Tech giant Apple (AAPL) is jumping by 3.2 percent after Goldman Sachs initiated coverage of the company’s stock with a Buy rating.

Meanwhile, traders are also looking ahead to congressional testimony by Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell, hoping for additional clues about the outlook for interest rates.

Powell is due to testify before the Senate Banking Committee on Tuesday and the House Financial Services Committee on Wednesday.

The Labor Department’s closely watched monthly employment report is also likely to attract attention later in the week.

Economists currently expect employment to increase by 200,000 jobs in February after jumping by 517,000 jobs in January, while the unemployment rate is expected to hold at 3.4 percent.

Sector News

Airline stocks have shown a substantial move to the upside on the day, with the NYSE Arca Airline Index soaring by 2.7 percent. Earlier in the session, the index reached its best intraday level in almost a month.

Significant strength is also visible among software stocks, as reflected by the 1.4 percent gain being posted by the Dow Jones U.S. Software Index.

Networking stocks are also turning in a strong performance in afternoon trading, driving the NYSE Arca Networking Index up by 1.3 percent.

On the other hand steel stocks have moved sharply lower on the day, dragging the NYSE Arca Steel Index down by 2.0 percent.

Other Markets

In overseas trading, stock markets across the Asia-Pacific region moved mostly higher during trading on Monday. Japan’s Nikkei 225 Index jumped by 1.1 percent, while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index crept up by 0.2 percent.

Meanwhile, the major European markets turned in a mixed performance on the day. While the U.K.’s FTSE 100 Index edged down by 0.2 percent, the French CAC 40 Index rose by 0.3 percent and the German DAX Index climbed by 0.5 percent.

In the bond market, treasuries have pulled back near the unchanged line after seeing initial strength. 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 3.962 percent.

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