Stocks have moved sharply higher in morning trading on Tuesday, extending the strong upward move seen in the previous session. The major averages have all shown substantial moves to the upside, with the tech-heavy Nasdaq posting a particularly strong gain.
Currently, the major averages are hovering near their best levels of the day. The Dow is up 515.44 points or 1.5 percent at 35,742.47, the Nasdaq is up 440.61 points or 2.9 percent at 15,665.76 and the S&P 500 is up 93.33 points or 2 percent at 4,685.00.
Easing concerns about the impact of the Omicron variant of the coronavirus have contributed to the continued strength on Wall Street.
Indications the variant causes milder symptoms has helped offset worries the new strain could derail the global economic recovery.
Uncertainty about Omicron led to substantial volatility in the markets last week, with the major averages hitting their lowest levels in well over a month.
With the major averages still well off their recent highs, traders continue to use the recent weakness as an opportunity to pick up stocks at somewhat reduced levels.
Intel (INTC) has helped lead the early rally on Wall Street, as the semiconductor giant is jumping by 3.8 percent in pre-market trading.
The spike by Intel comes after the company announced its intention to take its self-driving car unit Mobileye public in the United States in mid-2022 via an initial public offering.
In U.S. economic news, the Commerce Department released a report showing the U.S. trade deficit narrowed significantly in the month of October amid a spike in the value of exports.
The report said the trade deficit decreased to $67.1 billion in October from a revised $81.4 billion in September. Economists had expected the deficit to narrow to $67.5 billion from the $80.9 billion originally reported for the previous month.
The narrower trade deficit came as the value of exports soared by 8.1 percent to $223.6 billion, while the value of imports climbed by 0.9 percent to $290.7 billion.
Oil service stocks are extending the rally seen in the previous session, resulting in a 4.4 percent spike by the Philadelphia Oil Service Index.
The continued strength among oil service stocks comes as the price of crude oil for January delivery is surging $2.57 to $72.06 a barrel.
Intel is also leading a significant advance by semiconductor stocks, with the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index soaring by 4.4 percent. The index is on pace to end the session at a new record closing high.
Substantial strength is also visible among networking stocks, as reflected by the 3.7 percent jump by the NYSE Arca Networking Index.
Steel, software and biotechnology stocks are also seeing considerable strength on the day, reflecting broad based buying interest.
In overseas trading, stock markets across the Asia-Pacific region moved mostly higher during trading on Tuesday. Japan’s Nikkei 225 Index shot up by 1.9 percent, while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index spiked by 2.7 percent.
The major European markets have also shown strong moves to the upside on the day. While the U.K.’s FTSE 100 Index has jumped by 1.4 percent, the German DAX Index and the French CAC 40 Index are up by 2.5 percent and 2.8 percent, respectively.
In the bond market, treasuries are extending the sharp pullback seen in the previous session. As a result, the yield on the benchmark ten-year note, which moves opposite of its price, is up by 1 basis point at 1.444 percent.
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