Stocks Move Moderately Higher, S&P 500 Reaches New Record High - U.S. Commentary

(RTTNews) - Stocks have moved moderately higher in early trading on Monday, adding to the strong gains posted last week. The major averages have all climbed into positive territory, with the S&P 500 reaching a new record intraday high.

In recent trading, the major averages have pulled back off their highs for the young session, but they are holding on to modest gains. The Dow is up 53.95 points or 0.3 percent at 18,134.09, the Nasdaq is up 15.76 points or 0.3 percent at 5,107.85 and the S&P 500 is up 3.87 points or 0.2 percent at 2,121.56.

The early strength on Wall Street partly reflects the recent upward momentum for the markets, with traders largely reacting positively to the quarterly earnings season.

A positive reaction to results from tech giants Microsoft (MSFT), Amazon (AMZN), and Google (GOOG) helped lift the Nasdaq and the S&P 500 to record closing highs last Friday.

Nonetheless, trading activity has remained somewhat subdued as traders look ahead to the Federal Reserve's monetary policy announcement.

The Fed is scheduled to hold a two-day meeting this week, culminating with the announcement of its latest policy decision Wednesday afternoon.

The central bank is not expected to announce an increase in interest rates, but traders will be paying close attention for any hints at a rate hike at the June meeting. A recent batch of disappointing economic data has led many analysts to predict that the Fed will delay its first rate hike until later in the year.

Traders are also looking ahead to the release of quarterly results from Apple (AAPL), with the tech giant due to release its second quarter results after the close of today's trading.

Ford (F), Merck (MRK), Pfizer (PFE), Time Warner (TWX), Exxon Mobil (XOM), and Visa (V) are among the slew of other companies due to report their quarterly results later this week.

Economic data may also attract attention in the coming days, as traders are likely to keep an eye on reports on first quarter GDP, consumer confidence, personal income and spending, and manufacturing activity.

Gold stocks have shown a substantial move to the upside in early trading, driving the NYSE Arca Gold Bugs Index up by 2.9 percent. The strength in the sector comes as gold for June delivery is jumping $23.70 to $1,198.70 an ounce.

Steel, oil service, and semiconductor stocks are also seeing early strength, while utilities stocks have shown a notable move to the downside.

In overseas trading, stock markets across the Asia-Pacific region turned in a mixed performance during trading on Monday. Japan's Nikkei 225 Index edged down by 0.2 percent, while Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index surged up by 1.3 percent.

Meanwhile, the major European markets have all moved to the upside on the day. While the German DAX Index has jumped by 1.8 percent, the French CAC 40 Index is up by 1.3 percent and the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index is up by 0.4 percent.

In the bond market, treasuries have moved back to the downside following the strength seen in the two previous sessions. Subsequently, the yield on the benchmark ten-year note, which moves opposite of its price, is up by 2.5 basis points at 1.942 percent.