Stocks have moved mostly higher in morning trading on Monday following the mixed performance seen in the previous session. The major averages have all moved to the upside, although the tech-heavy Nasdaq is outperforming its counterparts.
Currently, the major averages are all in positive territory, but the Dow is up just 13.16 points or less than a tenth of a percent at 32,641.13. The Nasdaq is up 111.32 points or 0.8 percent at 13,326.55 and the S&P 500 is up 15.59 points or 0.4 percent at 3,928.69.
The strength on Wall Street comes as traders keep a close eye on activity in the bond market, with a decrease by treasury yields generating buying interest in high-growth companies.
After hovering near its highest levels in over a year in the previous session, the yield on the benchmark ten-year note has pulled back below 1.7 percent.
Overall trading activity is somewhat subdued, however, as traders look ahead to two days of Congressional testimony by Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell.
Powell is set to testify about the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act, with the Fed chief appearing before the House Financial Services Committee on Tuesday and the Senate Banking Committee on Wednesday.
In U.S. economic news, the National Association of Realtors released a report showing existing home sales in the U.S. tumbled by much more than expected in the month of February.
NAR said existing home sales plunged by 6.6 percent to an annual rate of 6.22 million in February after inching up by 0.2 percent to a downwardly revised rate of 6.66 million in January.
Economists had expected existing home sales to slump by 3.0 percent to a rate of 6.49 million from the 6.69 million originally reported for the previous month.
Despite the advance by the broader markets, most of the major sectors are showing only modest moves in morning trading.
Software stocks have shown a strong move to the upside, however, with the Dow Jones U.S. Software Index climbing by 1.7 percent.
Biotechnology and semiconductor stocks are also seeing notable strength, contributing to the upward move by the tech-heavy Nasdaq.
On the other hand, airline stocks have moved sharply lower on the day, resulting in a 3.6 percent nosedive by the NYSE Arca Airline Index.
Oil service, banking and steel stocks are also seeing considerable weakness, partly offsetting the strength seen in the aforementioned sectors.
In overseas trading, stock markets across the Asia-Pacific region turned in a mixed performance during trading on Monday. Japan’s Nikkei 225 Index plunged by 2.1 percent, while China’s Shanghai Composite Index jumped by 1.1 percent.
The major European markets have also turned mixed on the day. While the French CAC 40 Index is down by 0.4 percent, the U.K.’s FTSE 100 Index and the German DAX Index are both up by 0.3 percent.
In the bond market, treasuries have moved to the upside after ending last Friday’s trading nearly unchanged. Subsequently, the yield on the benchmark ten-year note, which moves opposite of its price, is down by 4.1 basis points at 1.691 percent.
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