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Positive Catalysts Lead To Early Strength On Wall Street - US Commentary(Alliance News Via Acquire Media NewsEdge) WASHINGTON (Alliance News) - Stocks have moved mostly higher in early trading on Wednesday after experiencing choppy trading for much of the previous session. The major averages have all moved to the upside, with the Dow reaching a new record intraday high. Currently, the major averages are holding on to moderate gains, but they have pulled back off their highs for the young session. The Dow is up 50.24 points or 0.3% at 17,110.92, the Nasdaq is up 21.65 points or 0.5% at 4,438.04 and the S&P 500 is up 6.44 points or 0.3% at 1,979.72. The early strength on Wall Street reflects several positive catalysts, including better than expected Chinese economic data, upbeat earnings from Intel (INTC), and merger-and-acquisition news. Positive sentiment was initially generated by a report from the Chinese National Bureau of Statistics showing that stronger than expected second quarter GDP growth. Annual growth in Chinese industrial production in June and fixed asset investment for the January to June period also came in above estimates. Traders have also reacted positively to quarterly results from Intel, with the semiconductor giant jumping by 6.5%. After the close of trading on Tuesday, Intel reported better than expected second quarter earnings and revenues and provided upbeat guidance. Additionally, shares of Time Warner (TWX) have surged up by 17.9% amid news that the entertainment giant rejected an USD80 billion dollar takeover bid from 21st Century Fox (FOX). Steel stocks have shown a strong move to the upside amid optimism about Chinese demand, driving the NYSE Arca Steel Index up by 1.5%. The index is climbing back toward the six-month highs it set earlier this month. Considerable strength has also emerged among computer hardware stocks, as reflected by the 1.5% gain being posted by the NYSE Arca Computer Hardware Index. The gain has lifted the index to a new record intraday high. Gold, oil, and trucking stocks are also seeing early strength, while most of the other major sectors have shown more modest moves. In overseas trading, stock markets across the Asia-Pacific region turned in a mixed performance during trading on Wednesday. Japan's Nikkei 225 Index edged down by 0.1%, while Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index rose by 0.3%. Meanwhile, the major European markets have all shown notable moves to the upside on the day. While the UK's FTSE 100 Index has jumped by 1.1%, the German DAX Index and the French CAC 40 Index are up by 1.3% and 1.5%, respectively. In the bond market, treasuries continue to show a lack of direction after ending the previous session nearly flat. Subsequently, the yield on the benchmark ten-year note, which moves opposite of its price, is up by less than a basis point at 2.556%. Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX |