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Stocks Give Back Ground But Continue To See Modest Strength - US Commentary(Alliance News Via Acquire Media NewsEdge) WASHINGTON (Alliance News) - After showing a notable move to the upside in early trading on Wednesday, stocks have given back some ground but remain mostly positive. The Dow is holding onto a modest gain after reaching a record intraday high earlier in the session. The major averages have moved roughly sideways in recent trading, hovering above the unchanged line. The Dow is up 41.46 points or 0.2% at 17,102.14, the Nasdaq is up 8.06 points or 0.2% at 4,424.45 and the S&P 500 is up 4.02 points or 0.2% at 1,977.30. The early strength on Wall Street reflected 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 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 also reacted positively to quarterly results from Intel, with the semiconductor giant jumping 6.8% to a ten-year intraday high. After the close of trading on Tuesday, Intel reported better than expected second quarter earnings and revenues and provided upbeat guidance. Shares of Time Warner (TWX) have also surged up by 15.9% amid news that the entertainment giant rejected an USD80 billion dollar takeover bid from 21st Century Fox (FOX). However, traders largely seem reluctant to make any significant moves, as earnings season is only just beginning to pick up steam. A number of big-name companies are due to release their quarterly results in the coming days, including Morgan Stanley (MS), UnitedHealth (UNH), Google (GOOG), IBM (IBM), and General Electric (GE). Traders are also keeping an eye on Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen's second day of testimony on Capitol Hill. Sector News While most of the major sectors are showing only modest moves in mid-day trading, gold stocks continue to turn in a strong performance. Reflecting the strength in the gold sector, the NYSE Arca Gold Bugs Index is up by 2%. The gains by gold stocks come amid an increase by the price of the precious metal, with gold for August delivery climbing USD4.70 to USD1,301.80 an ounce. Steel stocks also continue to post notable gains amid optimism about the outlook for Chinese demand, resulting in a 1.4% advance by the NYSE Arca Steel Index. The index is climbing back toward the six-month highs it set earlier this month. Notable strength also remains visible among computer hardware stocks, as reflected by the 1% gain being posted by the NYSE Arca Computer Hardware Index. The index reached a record high in early trading but has given back some ground since then. On the other hand, biotechnology stocks have come under significant selling pressure amid continued valuation concerns. The NYSE Arca Biotechnology Index is down by 1.2%, adding to the 2% loss posted on Tuesday. Other Markets 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 all showed strong moves to the upside on the day. While the UK's FTSE 100 Index jumped by 1.1%, the German DAX Index and the French CAC 40 Index surged up by 1.4% 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 down by less than a basis point at 2.545%. Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX |