Major Averages Remain Firmly Positive In Mid-Day Trading

(RTTNews) - Stocks have moved notably higher during trading on Wednesday, continuing to recover from the sharp pullback seen last week. The upward move comes after choppy trading on Tuesday led to a roughly flat close for the markets.

Railroad stocks are seeing substantial strength in mid-day trading, resulting in a 3.7 percent jump by the Dow Jones Railroads Index. With the gain, the index is on pace to end the session at its best closing level in almost a month.

Norfolk Southern (NSC) and Canadian Pacific (CP) are posting standout gains in the railroad sector after the latter revealed details of its offer to acquire the former.

Significant strength is also visible among steel stocks, as reflected by the 2.8 percent gain being posted by the NYSE Arca Steel Index. The index is rebounding after ending the previous session at its lowest closing level in well over a month.

Housing, health care, and banking stocks are also seeing notable strength, moving higher along with most of the other major sectors.

The major averages have recently pulled back off their highs for the session but remain firmly positive. The Dow is up 123.69 points or 0.7 percent at 17,613.19, the Nasdaq is up 41.38 points or 0.8 percent at 5,027.40 and the S&P 500 is up 14.36 points or 0.7 percent at 2,064.80.