Major Averages In Positive Territory In Mid-Day Trading

(RTTNews) - After initially showing a lack of direction, stocks are mostly higher in mid-day trading on Tuesday. Bargain hunting is likely contributing to the modest strength on Wall Street following the notable downward move seen over the past few sessions.

Extending a month-long upward trend, steel stocks are seeing considerable strength in mid-day trading. The NYSE Arca Steel Index is currently up by 2 percent after reaching a nearly three-month intraday high earlier in the session.

Cliffs Natural Resources (CLF) has helped to lead the steel sector higher, while AK Steel (AKS) and A.M. Castle (CAS) are also posting strong gains.

Significant strength has also emerged among tobacco stocks, as reflected by the 1.6 percent gain being posted by the NYSE Arca Tobacco Index. British American Tobacco (BTI) has jumped 3.2 percent to its best intraday level in over ten months.

Gold, electronic storage and utilities stocks are also seeing some strength on the day, although buying interest is relatively subdued.

On the other hand, airline stocks have come under pressure over the course of the session, dragging the NYSE Arca Airline Index down by 1.2 percent. The index is pulling back further off the nearly twelve-year intraday high it set last Friday.

The major averages have recently pulled back off their highs for the session but currently remain in positive territory. The Dow is up 19.35 points or 0.1 percent at 16,265.22, the Nasdaq is up 23.24 points or 0.6 percent at 4,103.00 and the S&P 500 is up 3.96 points or 0.2 percent at 1,849.00.