After moving mostly higher in early trading, stocks have seen some further upside over the course of morning trading on Tuesday. The major averages have climbed more firmly into positive territory, reaching their best intraday levels in over a month.
Much of the strength on Wall Street stems from optimism that the Federal Reserve will announce further measures to stimulate the sluggish economy following the conclusion of its two-day monetary policy meeting on Wednesday.
Adding to the optimism, the Commerce Department released a report before the start of trading showing a notable decrease in housing starts in the month of May.
With Oracle (ORCL) helping to lead the way higher after reporting better than expected quarterly results, software stocks are seeing significant strength on the day. The Dow Jones Software Index is up by 2.4 percent due in part to a 3 percent gain by Oracle.
Steel stocks have also shown a substantial move to the upside, driving the NYSE Arca Steel Index up by 2.7 percent. Chemical, financial, trucking, and oil service stocks are also posting notable gains, reflecting broad based buying interest.
The major averages have pulled back off their highs for the session in the past few minutes but continue to post strong gains. The Dow is up 110.34 points or 0.9 percent at 12,852.16, the Nasdaq is up 32.10 points or 1.1 percent at 2,927.43 and the S&P 500 is up 12.71 points or 1 percent at 1,357.49.
by RTT Staff Writer
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