Major Averages Rising To New Highs For The Session

(RTTNews) - After moving moderately higher in early trading, stocks have seen some further upside over the course of the trading session on Tuesday. The gains on the day are extending the upward trend shown by the markets over the past few sessions.

Oil service stocks continue to turn in some of the market's best performances in mid-day trading, with the Philadelphia Oil Service Index up by 2.1 percent. The index continues to regain ground after ending last Wednesday's trading at its worst closing level in well over three months.

The strength among oil service stocks comes as news of an agreement on Iran's nuclear program has generated some optimism about increased oil drilling business in the Islamic republic.

Considerable strength has also emerged among biotechnology stocks, as reflected by the 2.1 percent gain being posted by the NYSE Arca Biotechnology Index. With the gain, the index is back within striking distance of the record closing high set last month.

Semiconductor stocks are also seeing some strength on the day, with Micron (MU) leading the sector higher amid reports China's Tsinghua Unigroup is preparing a $23 billion bid for the memory chip maker.

Natural gas and internet stocks have also moved notably higher, while steel stocks are giving back some ground after rising sharply on Monday.

Currently, the major averages are at their highs for the session. The Dow is up 66.73 points or 0.4 percent at 18,044.41, the Nasdaq is up 37.52 points or 0.7 percent at 5,109.03 and the S&P 500 is up 9.21 points or 0.4 percent at 2,108.81.