Stocks Mostly Higher Following Largely Upbeat Economic Data - U.S. Commentary

(RTTNews) - With traders reacting positively to a batch of largely upbeat U.S. economic data, stocks are mostly higher in mid-day trading on Wednesday. The gains on the day extend the upward trend shown by the markets over the past few sessions.

The major averages are currently posting moderate gains, near their best levels of the day. The Dow is up 33.45 points or 0.2 percent at 16,106.25, the Nasdaq is up 21.65 points or 0.5 percent at 4,039.40 and the S&P 500 is up 4.98 points or 0.3 percent at 1,807.73.

The strength on Wall Street comes on the heels of the release of a slew of economic data, including a report from the Labor Department showing an unexpected decrease in initial jobless claims in the week ended November 23rd.

The Labor Department said initial jobless claims slid to 316,000, a decrease of 10,000 from the previous week's revised figure of 326,000. Economists had expected jobless claims to climb to 330,000.

Jobless claims continued to offset the sharp jump seen as a result of technical issues in the first week of October, falling to their lowest level in almost two months.

Adding to the positive sentiment, revised data released by Thomson Reuters and the University of Michigan showed an improvement in consumer sentiment in the month of November.

The report said the final reading on the consumer sentiment index for November came in at 75.1, reflecting a substantial upward revision from the preliminary reading of 72.0. With the upward revision, the index came in above the October reading of 73.2.

The Conference Board also released a report showing that its reading on leading U.S. economic indicators unexpectedly rose for the fourth straight month in October.

Meanwhile, the Commerce Department released a separate report showing a pullback in new orders for U.S. manufactured durable goods in the month of October.

The report said durable goods orders fell by 2.0 percent in October after jumping by an upwardly revised 4.1 percent in September. The drop in orders matched economist estimates.

Excluding a decrease in orders for transportation equipment, durable goods orders edged down by a more modest 0.1 percent in October compared to a 0.2 percent increase in September.

In corporate news, shares of Hewlett-Packard (HPQ) have surged up by 7.5 percent after the tech giant reported better than expected fourth quarter results. The company also provided first quarter and full-year earnings guidance in line with estimates.

Sector News

Computer hardware stocks are seeing considerable strength on the heels of the earnings news from HP, with the NYSE Arca Computer Hardware Index up by 1.7 percent. The gain has lifted the index to a new record intraday high.

While HP is leading the sector higher, Apple (AAPL) and Western Digital (WDC) are also posting strong gains, advancing by 2.1 percent and 1.7 percent, respectively.

Steel, networking, and railroad stocks are also seeing some strength on the day, while most of the major sectors are showing more modest moves to the upside.

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 fell by 0.4 percent, while Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index climbed by 0.5 percent.

Meanwhile, the major European markets all moved to the upside on the day. While the German DAX Index advanced by 0.7 percent, the French CAC 40 Index and the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index rose by 0.4 percent and 0.2 percent, respectively.

In the bond market, treasuries have come under pressure, giving back ground after trending higher over the past few sessions. Subsequently, the yield on the benchmark ten-year note, which moves opposite of its price, is up by 5.7 basis points at 2.753 percent.