Bargain Hunting Leads To Early Strength On Wall Street - U.S. Commentary

(RTTNews) - Stocks have moved mostly higher in early trading on Wednesday, regaining some ground following the sell-off seen in the previous session. The major averages have climbed into positive territory but remain well off their recent highs.

In recent trading, the major averages have moved roughly sideways, hovering well above the unchanged line. The Dow is up 90.50 points or 0.5 percent at 18,132.04, the Nasdaq is up 34.45 points or 0.7 percent at 5,067.20 and the S&P 500 is up 10.50 points or 0.5 percent at 2,114.70.

The early strength on Wall Street is partly due to bargain hunting following the steep drop seen on Tuesday, which partly reflected concerns about the outlook for interest rates.

After seeing substantial weakness in the previous session, airline stocks have shown a particularly strong move back to the upside. The NYSE Arca Airline Index has surged up by 2 percent, bouncing off a five-month closing low.

Pharmaceutical, biotechnology, and software stocks are also seeing notable strength, while most of the other major sectors are showing more modest moves.

Buying interest has remained somewhat subdued amid a quiet day on the economic front following the slew of data released yesterday.

Reports on weekly jobless claims, pending home sales, and consumer sentiment may attract some attention in the coming days.

Among individual stocks, shares of Tiffany (TIF) are moving sharply higher in early trading after the upscale jewelry retailer reported better than expected first quarter results.

Set-top box maker TiVo (TIVO) is also seeing strength after reporting first quarter earnings that beat analyst estimates. The company also announced the acquisition of software solutions provider Cubiware.

On the other hand, shares of Michael Kors Holdings (KORS) have come under pressure after the luxury goods retailer provided disappointing guidance.

In overseas trading, stock markets across the Asia-Pacific region turned in a mixed performance during trading on Wednesday. Japan's Nikkei 225 Index crept up by 0.2 percent, while Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index dropped by 0.6 percent.

Meanwhile, the major European markets have all moved notably higher on the day. While the French CAC 40 Index has surged up by 1.7 percent, the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index and the German DAX Index are up by 1.2 percent and 1.1 percent, respectively.

In the bond market, treasuries are giving back ground after ending the previous session notably higher. As a result, the yield on the benchmark ten-year note, which moves opposite of its price, is up by 3 basis points at 2.167 percent.