Major Averages Posting Modest Gains In Early Trading

(RTTNews) - With upbeat jobs data generating some buying interest, stocks have moved modestly higher in early trading on Thursday. The major averages have all climbed into positive territory after ending the previous session roughly flat.

The early strength on Wall Street comes following the release of a report from the Labor Department showing that initial jobless claims fell by more than expected in the week ended March 1st.

The data represents an upbeat sign for the labor market ahead of tomorrow's closely watched monthly jobs report.

Nonetheless, traders seem somewhat reluctant to make significant moves ahead of the jobs report, limiting the upside for the markets.

Steel stocks have still shown a strong upward move in early trading, however, with the NYSE Arca Steel Index rising by 1.5 percent. The index is climbing further off Monday's one-month closing low.

Gold, railroad, and banking stocks are also seeing early strength, while tobacco stocks continue to give back ground following the rally seen earlier this week.

The major averages have recently pulled back off their highs for the young session but are holding on to modest gains. The Dow is up 72.02 points or 0.4 percent at 16,432.20, the Nasdaq is up 6.92 points or 0.2 percent at 4,364.90 and the S&P 500 is up 5.82 points or 0.3 percent at 1,879.63.