Major Averages Posting Strong Gains In Early Trading

(RTTNews) - Stocks have moved notably higher in early trading on Monday, regaining some ground following the steep losses posted last week. The major averages are adding to last Friday's modest gains, further offsetting the weakness seen in the four preceding sessions.

The early strength on Wall Street is partly due to bargain hunting following last week's pullback, which dragged the Dow and the Nasdaq down to their lowest intraday levels in over a month last Thursday.

Buying interest was also generated by comments from People's Bank of China governor Zhou Xiaochuan that generated optimism about additional stimulus.

Xiaochuan said the Chinese economy has slowed "a bit too sharply" and warned the country needs to be vigilant about signs of deflation.

News on the merger-and-acquisition front has also generated some positive sentiment, with Hyperion Therapeutics (HPTX) and Auspex Pharmaceuticals (ASPX) posting standout gains after agreeing to be acquired by Horizon Pharma (HZNP) and Teva (TEVA), respectively.

Banking stocks have shown a strong move to the upside in early trading, driving the Dow Jones Banks Index up by 1.8 percent. The gain by the index comes after it ended the previous session at its lowest closing level in well over a month.

Telecom, energy, and utilities stocks are also seeing considerable strength, while gold stocks are bucking the uptrend.

Currently, the major averages are off their highs for the young session but remain firmly in positive territory. The Dow is up 254.88 points or 1.4 percent at 17,967.54, the Nasdaq is up 35.06 points or 0.7 percent at 4,926.27 and the S&P 500 is up 19.96 points or 1 percent at 2,080.98.