Major Averages Moving Steadily Higher In Mid-Day Trading

(RTTNews) - After initially showing a lack of direction, stocks have moved notably higher over the course of the trading day on Thursday. The gains on the day have lifted the Dow and the S&P 500 to new record highs, while the Nasdaq has reached its best level in two months.

Networking stocks have shown a substantial move to the upside on the day, driving the NYSE Arca Networking Index up by 2.5 percent. The index is regaining some ground after closing lower for four consecutive sessions.

Ciena (CIEN) has helped to lead the sector higher, with the provider of fiber-optic networking equipment surging up by 18.4 percent after reporting better than expected second quarter results and providing upbeat guidance.

Significant strength has also emerged among gold stocks, as reflected by the 1.8 percent gain being posted by the NYSE Arca Gold Bugs Index. The strength in the sector comes as gold for August delivery is climbing $10 to $1,254.30 an ounce.

Railroad stocks are also seeing considerable strength in mid-day trading, resulting in a 1.5 percent gain by the Dow Jones Railroads Index. With the gain, the index has reached a new record intraday high.

Steel, housing, and internet stocks are also posting notable gains on the day, moving higher along with most of the other major sectors.

The major averages have seen some further upside in recent trading, reaching new highs for the session. The Dow is up 91.84 points or 0.6 percent at 16,829.37, the Nasdaq is up 31.98 points or 0.8 percent at 4,283.62 and the S&P 500 is up 10.16 points or 0.5 percent at 1,938.04.