Bargain Hunting Contributes To Early Strength On Wall Street - U.S. Commentary

(RTTNews) - After moving higher at the open, stocks have remained mostly positive over the course of early trading on Friday. The major averages have all moved to the upside on the heels of the downtrend seen over the past several sessions.

Currently, the major averages remain in positive territory but off their highs for the session. The Dow is up 166.93 points or 1.1 percent at 15,827.11, the Nasdaq is up 20.40 points or 0.5 percent at 4,287.24, and the S&P 500 is up 17.17 points or 0.9 percent at 1,846.25.

Bargain hunting has contributed to the early strength on Wall Street, with some traders picking up stocks at reduced levels following recent weakness.

The losses posted in the previous session dragged the Dow down to a two-year closing low, while the Nasdaq and the S&P 500 once again ended the session at their lowest closing levels in well over a year.

The markets have also benefited from a sharp increase by the price of crude oil, with crude for March delivery jumping $2.36 to $28.57 a barrel.

Amid ongoing oversupply concerns, the price of crude oil tumbled $1.24 in the previous session to a nearly thirteen-year closing low of $26.21 a barrel. Positive sentiment has also been generated by a report from the Commerce Department showing that U.S. retail sales rose slightly more than expected in January.

The Commerce Department said retail sales climbed by 0.2 percent in January compared to economist estimates for a 0.1 percent uptick.

The report also showed that retail sales in December rose by an upwardly revised 0.2 percent compared to the 0.1 percent drop initially reported.

Meanwhile, a separate report from the University of Michigan showed an unexpected deterioration in consumer sentiment in the month of February.

The report said the preliminary reading on the consumer sentiment index for February came in at 90.7 compared to the final January reading of 92.0. The index had been expected to inch up to 92.5.

After falling sharply in recent sessions, banking stocks have shown a strong move back to the upside on the day. The Dow Jones Banks Index has surged up by 3.7 percent, bouncing off a nearly three-year closing low.

Energy stocks are also seeing significant strength amid the jump by the price of crude oil, moving higher along steel, housing, and transportation stocks.

Among individual stocks, shares of Groupon (GRPN) are moving sharply higher in early trading after the daily deals company reported better than expected fourth quarter results.

Hotel and casino operator Wynn Resorts (WYNN) is also seeing early strength after reporting fourth quarter earnings that came in well above analyst estimates.

On the other hand, shares of Activision Blizzard (ATVI) have come under pressure after the video game publisher reported fourth quarter results that missed expectations and provided disappointing guidance.

In overseas trading, stock markets across the Asia-Pacific region moved mostly lower during trading on Friday. Japan's Nikkei 225 Index plummeted by 4.8 percent, while Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index dove by 1.2 percent.

Meanwhile, the major European markets have shown strong moves to the upside on the day. While the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index has surged up by 2.4 percent, the German DAX Index is up by 2 percent and the French CAC 40 Index is up by 1.9 percent.

In the bond market, treasuries are giving back some ground following recent strength. Subsequently, the yield on the benchmark ten-year note, which moves opposite of its price, is up by 6.1 basis points at 1.705 percent.