Stocks Adding To Recent Gains In Early Trading - U.S. Commentary

(RTTNews) - Following the Christmas Day holiday on Thursday, stocks have moved mostly higher in early trading on Friday. The major averages have all climbed into positive territory after ending Wednesday's abbreviated session roughly flat.

In recent trading, the major averages have seen some further upside, reaching new highs for the young session. The Dow is up 64.15 points or 0.4 percent at 18,094.36, the Nasdaq is up 24.00 points or 0.5 percent at 4,797.47 and the S&P 500 is up 9.48 points or 0.5 percent at 2,091.36.

The early strength on Wall Street partly reflects the recent upward momentum for the markets, which has lifted the Dow to new record highs above 18,000.

Stocks have trended higher since last Wednesday, when the Federal Reserve said it would be patient in beginning to normalize the stance of monetary policy.

Traders seem to have interpreted the remark as an indication that the Fed will be cautious in its decision to begin raising interest rates.

Continued signs of strength in the economy have also contributed to the recent positive sentiment, as the U.S. continues to outperform many of the other major developed nations.

Paul Dales, Senior U.S. Economist at Capital Economics, said upbeat personal spending data released on Tuesday means consumption growth in the fourth quarter could be as strong as 4.0 percent.

"It is clear that real consumption is being boosted by the effects of lower gasoline prices and the acceleration in job growth," Dales said.

He added, "The upshot is that it is now possible that GDP growth in the fourth quarter will be even stronger than our current 3.0 percent forecast."

Gold stocks are turning in some of the market's best performances in early trading, driving the NYSE Arca Gold Bugs Index up by 3.6 percent. The strength in the sector comes as gold for February delivery is jumping $19.80 to $1,193.30 an ounce.

Biotechnology, utilities, and steel stocks are also seeing early strength, moving higher along with most of the other major sectors.

Nonetheless, trading activity has remained somewhat subdued, as many traders remain away from their desks following the holiday on Thursday.

In overseas trading, many of the major markets across the Asia-Pacific region were closed on the day, although China's Shanghai Composite Index surged up by 2.8 percent. Japan's Nikkei 225 Index also inched up by 0.1 percent.

Meanwhile, following the Christmas Day holiday on Thursday, the major European markets remained closed on Friday for Boxing Day.

In the bond market, treasuries are moving modestly higher after ending the previous session roughly flat. Subsequently, the yield on the benchmark ten-year note, which moves opposite of its price, is down by 1.4 basis points at 2.25 percent.