U.S. Stocks Move Mostly Higher After Early Volatility

(RTTNews) - Stocks showed a lack of direction in early trading on Thursday but have moved mostly higher over the course of the session. The major averages have all climbed into positive territory after turning in a mixed performance earlier in the day, with the tech-heavy Nasdaq leading the charge.

In recent trading, the major averages have surged to new highs for the session. The Nasdaq is up 215.54 points or 1.3 percent at 16,385.90, the S&P 500 is up 34.07 points or 0.7 percent at 5,194.71 and the Dow is up 31.33 points or 0.1 percent at 38,492.84.

The recent advance by the major averages seemed to coincide with the release of the results of the Treasury Department's auction of $22 billion worth of thirty-year bonds, which revealed the sale attracted average demand.

The thirty-year bond auction drew a high yield of 4.671 percent and a bid-to-cover ratio of 2.37, while the ten previous thirty-year bond auctions had an average bid-to-cover ratio of 2.39.

The bid-to-cover ratio is a measure of demand that indicates the amount of bids for each dollar worth of securities being sold.

Treasury yields pulled back near the unchanged following the release of the results, with the yield on the benchmark ten-year note giving back ground after reaching a high near 4.60 percent.

The Treasury revealed below average demand for this month's three-year and ten-year note auctions earlier in the week.

The strength that has emerged on Wall Street may also reflect bargain hunting, as the turnaround by the Dow came after the blue chip index hit its lowest intraday level in almost two months.

Earlier in the day, stocks showed a lack of direction as traders weighed today's relatively tame producer price inflation data against yesterday's hotter-than-expected consumer price inflation data.

Before the start of trading, the Labor Department released a report showing producer prices increased in line with economist estimates in the month of March.

The Labor Department said its producer price index for final demand crept up by 0.2 percent in March after climbing by 0.6 percent in February. The uptick matched expectations.

Meanwhile, the report said the annual rate of producer price growth accelerated to 2.1 percent in March from 1.6 percent in February.

The annual rate of growth was the fastest since surging 2.3 percent last April but came in slightly slower than the 2.2 percent jump forecast by economists.

The producer price inflation data comes after the Labor Department released a separate report on Wednesday consumer prices rose by slightly more than expected in March.

The report also said the annual rate of consumer price growth accelerated to 3.5 percent in March from 3.2 percent in February. Economists had expected a more modest acceleration to 3.4 percent.

Sector News

Semiconductor stocks have shown a strong move to the upside over the course of the session, driving the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index up by 1.6 percent.

Considerable strength has also emerged among computer hardware stocks, as reflected by the 1.2 percent gain being posted by the NYSE Arca Computer Hardware Index.

Housing stocks are also regaining ground after falling sharply on Wednesday, with the Philadelphia Housing Sector Index climbing by 1.0 percent after ending the previous session at its lowest closing level in over a month.

Gold, transportation and retail stocks have also moved higher on the day, while energy stocks are seeing continued weakness amid a decrease by the price of crude oil.

Other Markets

In overseas trading, stock markets across the Asia-Pacific region turned in a mixed performance during trading on Thursday. Japan's Nikkei 225 Index fell by 0.4 percent, while China's Shanghai Composite Index edged up by 0.2 percent.

Meanwhile, the major European markets have all moved to the downside on the day. While the German DAX Index has tumbled by 1.3 percent, the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index is down by 0.9 percent and the French CAC 40 Index is down by 0.8 percent.

In the bond market, treasuries have pulled back off their early highs and into negative territory. As a result, the yield on the benchmark ten-year note, which moves opposite of its price, is up by 2.0 basis points at 4.580 percent.