U.S. Stocks Moving Mostly Higher Following Recent Weakness

(RTTNews) - After trending lower over the past few sessions, stocks have moved back to the upside during trading on Wednesday. The major averages have all moved back to the upside.

Currently, the Nasdaq and S&P 500 are just off their highs of the session. The Nasdaq is up 142.46 points or 0.6 percent at 26,242.24 and the S&P 500 is up 48.23 points or 0.6 percent at 7,679.70.

The narrower Dow is further off its best levels of the day but still up 316.10 points or 0.6 percent at 53,082.98.

The strength on Wall Street may partly reflect bargain hunting following the recent slump, which dragged the S&P 500 down to its lowest levels in nearly a month.

Early buying interest was also generated in reaction to a pullback by crude oil prices and treasury yields, although stocks have seen continued strength even as oil prices and yields turn higher.

Even as yields bounce well off their early lows, a report from payroll processor ADP showing weaker than expected private sector job growth may have eased concerns about the outlook for interest rates.

ADP said private sector employment rose by 38,000 jobs in August after climbing by an upwardly revised 46,000 jobs in July.

Economists had expected private sector employment to grow by 48,000 jobs compared to the addition of 44,000 jobs originally reported for the previous month.

The modest increase in August reflected the slowest pace of job creation since private sector employers added just 11,000 jobs in January.

Traders may be hopeful that signs of weakness in the labor market will lead the Federal Reserve to refrain from raising interest rates later this month even amid concerns about inflation.

On Friday, the Labor Department is scheduled to release its more closely watched monthly report on employment, which includes both public and private sector jobs.

Economists currently expect employment to climb by 55,000 jobs in August after dipping by 23,000 jobs in July, while the unemployment rate is expected to tick up to 4.2 percent from 4.1 percent.

Sector News

Airline stocks have shown a substantial move back to the upside, with the NYSE Arca Airline Index soaring by 2.8 percent after ending the previous session at its lowest closing level in over three months.

Significant strength is also visible among telecom stocks, as reflected by the 2.6 percent surge by the NYSE Arca North American Telecom Index.

Gold, banking and oil service stocks are also seeing considerable strength on the day, while software stocks have shown a notable move to the downside.

Other Markets

In overseas trading, stock markets across the Asia-Pacific region moved mostly lower during trading on Wednesday. Japan's Nikkei 225 Index plunged by 2.9 percent, while China's Shanghai Composite Index slumped by 1 percent.

The major European markets have also moved to the downside on the day. While the German DAX Index is down by 0.5 percent, the French CAC 40 Index and the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index are both down by 0.2 percent.

In the bond market, treasuries have pulled back near the unchanged line after initially rebounding from recent weakness. Subsequently, the yield on the benchmark ten-year note, which moves opposite of its price, is up by less than a basis point at 4.800 percent.