U.S. Stocks Remain Mostly Positive In Afternoon Trading

(RTTNews) - Stocks have moved mostly higher during trading on Monday, extending the upward trend seen over the past several sessions. The Nasdaq and the S&P 500 have climbed firmly into positive territory, while the narrower Dow is posting a more modest gain.

Currently, the Dow is well off its highs of the session but still up 8.89 points or less than a tenth of a percent at 37,314.05. The Nasdaq is up 98.99 points or 0.7 percent at 14,912.91 and the S&P 500 is up 25.85 points or 0.6 percent at 4,745.04.

Stocks continue to benefit from recent upward momentum, which has propelled the Dow to new record highs. The Nasdaq and the S&P 500 have also reached their best levels in nearly two years.

The major averages have moved higher for seven consecutive weeks due in part to optimism about the outlook for interest rates.

The Federal Reserve reinforced the optimism with its monetary policy announcement last week, forecasting three interest rate cuts in 2024.

While some Fed officials have pushed back against the idea of imminent rate cuts, investors still widely expect the central bank to lower rates as early as March.

Later this week, the Commerce Department is due to release its report on personal income and spending in the month of November, which includes readings on inflation said to be preferred by the Fed.

The National Association of Home Builders released a report this morning showing homebuilder sentiment in the U.S. rebounded in December after falling for four consecutive months.

The report said the NAHB/Wells Fargo Housing Market Index climbed to 37 in December after falling to an eleven-month low of 34 in November. Economists had expected the index to rise to 36.

Sector News

Steel stocks continue to see substantial strength in afternoon trading, with the NYSE Arca Steel Index soaring by 3.6 percent on the day.

U.S. Steel (X) is leading the sector higher, skyrocketing by 27.4 percent after announcing an agreement to be acquired by Japan's Nippon Steel for $55.00 per share in cash.

Significant strength has also emerged among retail stocks, as reflected by the 1.6 percent gain being posted by the Dow Jones U.S. Retail Index. The index has reached its best intraday level in well over a year.

Energy stocks also continue to turn in a strong performance amid a sharp increase by the price of crude oil, while housing stocks have shown a notable move to the downside.

Other Markets

In overseas trading, stock markets across the Asia-Pacific region moved mostly lower during trading on Monday. Japan's Nikkei 225 Index fell by 0.6 percent, while Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index slumped by 1.0 percent.

Meanwhile, the major European markets turned in a mixed performance on the day. While the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index climbed by 0.5 percent, the French CAC 40 Index declined by 0.4 percent and the German DAX Index slid by 0.6 percent.

In the bond market, treasuries have moved to the downside after ending last Friday's trading roughly flat. Subsequently, the yield on the benchmark ten-year note, which moves opposite of its price, is up by 3.0 basis points at 3.958 percent.