Stocks Show Strong Move To The Upside In Early Trading - U.S. Commentary

(RTTNews) - After ending the previous session modestly lower, stocks have moved sharply higher in early trading on Tuesday. The major averages have climbed firmly into positive territory, more than offsetting the losses posted on Monday.

Currently, the major averages are hanging on to strong gains on the day. The Dow is up 161.86 points or 0.9 percent at 17,690.13, the Nasdaq is up 49.84 points or 1 percent at 5,090.83 and the S&P 500 is up 18.08 points or 0.9 percent at 2,074.58.

The early strength on Wall Street comes as stocks continue to recover from yesterday's initial drop, which analysts suggested was overdone.

Many traders remain on the sidelines, however, with the upcoming New Year's Day holiday keeping trading activity relatively subdued.

Telecom stocks have shown a strong move to the upside, driving the NYSE Arca Telecom Index up by 1.3 percent. Qualcomm (QCOM) has helped to lead the sector higher, climbing by 2 percent.

Retail, internet, and networking stocks are also seeing notable strength, moving higher along with most of the other major sectors.

On the U.S. economic front, Standard & Poor's released a report showing that home prices in major metropolitan areas rose more than expected in October.

The report said the S&P/Case-Shiller 20-City Composite Home Price Index climbed 0.8 percent in October after rising by a revised 0.5 percent in September.

Economists had expected the index to rise by 0.6 percent, which would have matched the increase originally reported for the previous month.

The bigger than expected monthly increase in prices led to an acceleration in the annual rate of price growth, which ticked up to 5.5 percent in October from 5.4 percent in September.

A separate report from the Conference Board showed that consumer confidence rebounded by more than expected in December.

The Conference Board said its consumer confidence index climbed to 96.5 in December from an upwardly revised 92.6 in November.

Economists had expected the consumer confidence index to rise to 93.5 from the 90.4 originally reported for the previous month.

In overseas trading, stock markets across the Asia-Pacific region moved mostly higher during trading on Tuesday. Japan's Nikkei 225 Index climbed by 0.6 percent, while Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index rose by 0.4 percent.

The major European markets have also moved to the upside on the day. While the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index has risen by 0.6 percent, the French CAC 40 Index and the German DAX Index are up by 1.5 percent and 1.7 percent, respectively.

In the bond market, treasuries have come under pressure after ending the previous session moderately higher. Subsequently, the yield on the benchmark ten-year note, which moves opposite of its price, is up by 4.8 basis points at 2.273 percent.