Major Averages Hovering In Positive Territory In Mid-Day Trading

(RTTNews) - After moving notably higher early in the session, stocks have continued to perform well throughout the trading day on Friday. The gains on the day have partly offset the sell-off that was seen in the previous session.

Airline stocks have shown a substantial move back to the upside on the day after pulling back sharply over the past few sessions. Reflecting the strength in the sector, the NYSE Arca Airline Index has surged up by 2.7 percent.

SkyWest (SKYW) is posting a standout gain within the airline sector after reporting better than expected first quarter earnings after the close of trading on Thursday.

Considerable strength has also emerged among semiconductor stocks, as reflected by the 2.2 percent gain being posted by the NYSE Arca Semiconductor Index. The gain by the index comes after it ended the previous session at its lowest closing level in a month.

Bargain hunting is also contributed to strength in the biotech sector, with the NYSE Arca Biotechnology Index jumping by 1.7 percent after falling to a two-month closing low on Thursday.

Nektar Therapeutics (NKTR) has helped to lead the biotech sector higher, soaring by 13.5 percent after reporting better than expected first quarter results.

Chemical, commercial real estate, and steel stocks are also seeing notable strength in mid-day trading, moving higher along with most of the other major sectors.

Currently, the major averages are hovering firmly in positive territory. The Dow is up 116.24 points or 0.7 percent at 17,956.76, the Nasdaq is up 28.11 points or 0.6 percent at 4,970.06 and the S&P 500 is up 12.22 points or 0.6 percent at 2,097.80.