Wall Street Shakes Off Early Caution; Stocks Rise - U.S. Commentary

(RTTNews) - Wall Street is showing modest strength in mid-day trading on Monday, renewing its recent strength after a cautious start.

Stocks treaded water in the early stages of the session, following disappointing earnings from McDonald's (MCD) and some lingering worries that the recent market rally had exhausted its momentum. After a rally through much of last week, stocks put in a mixed performance on Friday, after Microsoft (MSFT) revealed disappointing financial figures.

The renewed upswing on Monday has taken the S&P 500 to a new intraday record, though the index has leveled off lately and is now hovering below its peak.

The S&P 500 is up 2.27 points to 1,694.36. The Dow is up 4.93 points to 15,546.01.

The Nasdaq, which lost ground on Friday after the Microsoft disappointment and lower-than-expected results from Google (GOOG), has rebounded and is the best performer among the major averages in mid-day trading. The index is currently up 8.96 points, or 0.25 percent, to 3,596.57.

Shares of McDonald's are losing ground after the fast food giant revealed a quarterly profit that missed expectations. Earnings at the hamburger chain rose 4 percent from last year, but this was lower than experts had predicted due to weak sales in Europe and Asia. The company also predicted that the rest of the year would be challenging.

The company's stock is down $2.67, or 2.7%, in mid-day trading.

Meanwhile, toy maker Hasbro reported a second-quarter profit that fell from last year. Revenues for toys aimed at boys dropped 35 percent from a year ago, when sales benefited from high-profile movie tie-ins.

Still, shares of Hasbro are up 1.22, or 2.7%.

In economic news, the National Association of Realtors revealed that sales of previously-owned homes fell 1.2 percent in June. Economists had expected a gain for the month.Home prices rose sharply, however. The median price of a home climbed to $214,200. This was up 13.5 percent from the same time last year.

Looking overseas, Asian stocks generally ended higher. The advance followed a decisive victory by Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's ruling Liberal Democratic Party in the country's upper house elections.

Japan's Nikkei index climbed about 68 points, or 0.5 percent, to end near 14,658.

There were gains elsewhere in Asia as well. China's benchmark Shanghai Composite reversed early losses to end 0.6 percent higher. Hong Kong's Hang Seng index closed up 0.3 percent.

In Europe, stocks finished mixed. The U.K.'s FTSE 100 edged down 11.19 points, or 0.2 percent, to finish at 6,623.17. France posted a gain, with the CAC 40 rising 14.60 points, or 0.4 percent, to reach 3,939.92. Germany finished almost flat, with the DAX index slipping less than a point to finish at 8,331.06.