Stocks Mostly Higher Following Recent Weakness - U.S. Commentary

(RTTNews) - While buying interest has remained somewhat subdued, stocks are mostly higher in mid-day trading on Friday. The gains on the day are partly offsetting the sharp pullback that was seen over the course of the previous session.

The major averages have moved roughly sideways in recent trading, hovering in positive territory. The Dow is up 34.61 points or 0.2 percent at 15,031.09, the Nasdaq is up 23.15 points or 0.6 percent at 3,797.49 and the S&P 500 is up 5.92 points or 0.4 percent at 1,684.58.

Bargain hunting is contributing to some of the strength on Wall Street, with traders picking up stocks at reduced levels following the weakness seen on Thursday.

The pullback seen in the previous session extended recent downward trends by the Dow and the S&P 500, which hit their worst levels in almost a month.

Traders have been somewhat reluctant to get back into the markets, however, with the ongoing government shutdown keeping traders on the sidelines.

Notably, the government shutdown led the Labor Department to postpone the release of its closely watched monthly employment report.

The report on the employment situation in the month of September had previously been due to be released before the start of trading. The Labor Department said an alternative release date has not been scheduled.

The lack of jobs data has increased the focus on developments in Washington, where lawmakers remain at an impasse regarding a temporary spending bill.

The White House announced Thursday night that the government shutdown has led President Barack Obama to cancel trips to Indonesia and Brunei next week.

Obama previously canceled visits to the Philippines and Malaysia but had still been scheduled to attend the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation Economic Leaders meeting in Indonesia and the East Asia Summit in Brunei.

Democrats continue to call on House Republicans to pass a "clean" spending bill to get the government running again, while House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, has continued to insist on delaying key provisions of the healthcare reform law.

Sector News

Health insurance stocks have shown a strong move to the upside over the course of the trading day, driving the Morgan Stanley Healthcare Payor Index up by 1.7 percent. The index continues to recover from the sharp pullback seen in mid-September, climbing back toward its record highs.

Aetna (AET) and Centene (CNC) are turning in two of the health insurance sector's best performances, advancing by 2.4 percent and 2.2 percent, respectively.

Significant strength has also emerged among networking stocks, as reflected by the 1.6 percent gain being posted by the NYSE Arca Networking Index. Ciena (CIEN) and Emulex (ELX) are posting strong gains in mid-day trading.

Healthcare provider, internet, and oil service stocks are also seeing notable strength, while most of the other major sectors have shown more modest moves to the upside.

Meanwhile, housing stocks have come under pressure on the day, dragging the Philadelphia Housing Sector Index down by 1.6 percent.

Other Markets

In overseas trading, stock market across the Asia-Pacific region moved mostly lower during trading on Friday. Japan's Nikkei 225 Index slumped by 0.9 percent, while Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index ended the day down by 0.3 percent.

Meanwhile, the major European markets moved to the upside on the day. While the French CAC 40 Index advanced by 0.9 percent, the German DAX Index rose by 0.3 percent and the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index inched up by 0.1 percent.

In the bond market, treasuries have moved moderately lower after turning higher over the course of the previous session. Subsequently, the yield on the benchmark ten-year note, which moves opposite of its price, is up by 3.3 basis points at 2.639 percent.