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Major Averages Move To The Upside, S&P 500 Hits Record High(Alliance News Via Acquire Media NewsEdge) WASHINGTON (Alliance News) - Stocks have moved mostly higher in early trading on Tuesday, adding to the strong gains posted in the previous session. The major averages have shown notable moves to the upside, with the S&P 500 reaching a new record intraday high. After seeing initial strength, stocks have continued to perform well following the release of the Institute for Supply Management's report on activity in the manufacturing sector. The ISM said its purchasing managers index crept up to 53.7 in March from 53.2 in February, with a reading above 50 indicating growth in the manufacturing sector. A separate report from the Commerce Department showed a modest uptick in construction spending in the month of February. Continuing to recover from their recent pullback, biotechnology stocks have moved sharply higher in early trading. The NYSE Arca Biotechnology Index has surged up by 2.9%, bouncing further off the nearly two-month low set on Friday. Networking, software, and airline stocks are also seeing early strength, moving higher along with a majority of the other major sectors. The major averages have moved roughly sideways in recent trading, hovering near their highs for the young session. The Dow is up 91.77 points or 0.6% at 16,549.43, the Nasdaq is up 50.33 points or 1.2% at 4,249.32 and the S&P 500 is up 10.71 points or 0.6% at 1,883.05. Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX |