Stocks See Further Upside After Initial Upward Move - U.S. Commentary

(RTTNews) - After moving notably higher at the start of trading on Friday, stocks have seen some further upside over the course of the trading session. The gains on the day have partly offset the steep drop seen over the past several sessions.

In recent trading, the major averages have pulled back off their highs for the session, but they remain firmly positive. The Dow is up 222.74 points or 1.4 percent at 15,882.92, the Nasdaq is up 46.15 points or 1.1 percent at 4,312.99 and the S&P 500 is up 25.76 points or 1.4 percent at 1,854.84.

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

The losses posted in the previous session dragged the Dow down to a two-year closing low, while the Nasdaq and the S&P 500 once again ended the session at their lowest closing levels in well over a year.

The markets have also benefited from a sharp increase by the price of crude oil, with crude for March delivery jumping $3.07 to $29.28 a barrel. The rebound reflects optimism about possible production cuts.

Amid ongoing oversupply concerns, the price of crude oil tumbled $1.24 in the previous session to a nearly thirteen-year closing low of $26.21 a barrel. Positive sentiment has also been generated by a report from the Commerce Department showing that U.S. retail sales rose slightly more than expected in January.

The Commerce Department said retail sales climbed by 0.2 percent in January compared to economist estimates for a 0.1 percent uptick.

The report also showed that retail sales in December rose by an upwardly revised 0.2 percent compared to the 0.1 percent drop initially reported.

Core retail sales, which exclude autos, gasoline, and building materials, increased by 0.6 percent in January following a 0.3 percent decrease in December.

Meanwhile, a separate report from the University of Michigan showed an unexpected deterioration in consumer sentiment in the month of February.

The report said the preliminary reading on the consumer sentiment index for February came in at 90.7 compared to the final January reading of 92.0. The index had been expected to inch up to 92.5.

Among individual stocks, shares of Groupon (GRPN) are moving sharply higher on the day after the daily deals company reported better than expected fourth quarter results.

Hotel and casino operator Wynn Resorts (WYNN) is also seeing notable strength after reporting fourth quarter earnings that came in well above analyst estimates.

On the other hand, shares of Activision Blizzard (ATVI) have come under pressure after the video game publisher reported fourth quarter results that missed expectations and provided disappointing guidance.

Sector News

After falling sharply in recent sessions, banking stocks have shown a strong move back to the upside on the day. The Dow Jones Banks Index has surged up by 5.5 percent, bouncing off a nearly three-year closing low.

JP Morgan (JPM), Citigroup (C), and Cullen/Frost Bankers (CFR) are turning in some of the banking sector's best performances.

Energy stocks are also regaining ground following recent weakness, benefiting from the sharp increase by the price of crude oil.

The Philadelphia Oil Service Index is soaring by 4 percent, while the NYSE Arca Oil & Gas Index has shot up by 3.3 percent.

Steel, housing, and transportation stocks are also seeing considerable strength in mid-day trading, moving higher along with most of the other major sectors.

Other Markets

In overseas trading, stock markets across the Asia-Pacific region moved mostly lower during trading on Friday. Japan's Nikkei 225 Index plummeted by 4.8 percent, while Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index dove by 1.2 percent.

Meanwhile, the major European markets moved sharply higher on the day. While the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index surged up by 3.1 percent, the German DAX Index and the French CAC 40 Index both jumped by 2.5 percent.

In the bond market, treasuries are giving back ground following recent strength. Subsequently, the yield on the benchmark ten-year note, which moves opposite of its price, is up by 8.7 basis points at 1.731 percent.