Stocks Remain Firmly Positive After Early Rally - U.S. Commentary

(RTTNews) - After rising sharply at the open, stocks continue to turn in a strong performance in mid-day trading on Monday. The upward move extends the move seen last Friday, when stocks rebounded from an early move to the downside.

The major averages have moved roughly sideways in recent trading, hovering firmly in positive territory. The Dow is up 216.51 points or 1.3 percent at 16,688.88, the Nasdaq is up 49.91 points or 1.1 percent at 4,757.69 and the S&P 500 is up 26.56 points or 1.4 percent at 1,977.92.

The early rally on Wall Street came as traders reacted to considerable strength in most of the major overseas markets.

Traders continue to react positively to last week's weaker than expected jobs data, which has shored up expectations that the Federal Reserve will hold off on raising interest rates.

The jobs report has most analysts predicting that the Fed will leave rates at record lows later this month, although a rate hike in December remains a possibility.

Meanwhile, the Institute for Supply Management released a report showing that growth in the service sector slowed by more than expected.

The ISM said its non-manufacturing index dropped to 56.9 in September from 59.0 in August, although a reading above 50 indicates growth in the service sector. Economists had expected the index to dip to 58.0.

Gold stocks are turning in some of the best performances on the day, driving the NYSE Arca Gold Bugs Index up by 4.3 percent.

The strength among gold stocks comes despite a decrease by the price of the precious metal, as gold for December delivery is down $3.80 at $1,132.80 an ounce.

Steel, energy, computer hardware, and telecom stocks are also seeing considerable strength amid a broad based rally.

In overseas trading, stock markets across the Asia-Pacific region moved to the upside during trading on Monday. Japan's Nikkei 225 Index and Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index both surged up by 1.6 percent, while Australia's All Ordinaries Index jumped by 1.9 percent.

The major European markets also rallied sharply on the day. While the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index soared by 2.7 percent, the French CAC 40 Index and the German DAX Index shot up by 3.3 percent and 3.5 percent, respectively.

In the bond market, treasuries are giving back some ground after rising sharply in recent sessions. As a result, the yield on the benchmark ten-year note, which moves opposite of its price, is up by 3.9 basis points at 2.028 percent.