After moving sharply higher over the course of morning trading on Wednesday, stocks continue to see significant strength in the mid-afternoon. The major averages remain firmly in positive territory, adding to yesterday's gains.
The continued strength on Wall Street is largely due to a rally by tech stocks, which have moved sharply higher despite disappointing guidance from semiconductor giant Intel (INTC).
Buying interest may also have been generated by a report released by the Commerce Department before the start of trading showing a bigger than expected rebound in housing starts in the month of June.
Semiconductor stocks are turning in some of the tech sector's best performances, resulting in a 3.6 percent gain by the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index. With the gain, the index is bouncing well off the seven-month closing low it set in the previous session.
Considerable strength also remains visible among computer hardware and networking stocks, with the NYSE Arca Computer Hardware Index and the NYSE Arca Networking Index both up by 2.9 percent.
While buying interest outside of the tech sector is more subdued, notable strength has emerged among defense, oil service, and health insurance stocks.
On the other hand, airline, brokerage, and gold stocks have come under pressure over the course of the trading day.
The major averages have pulled back off their highs for the session but are currently holding on to strong gains. The Dow is up 88.63 points or 0.7 percent at 12,894.17, the Nasdaq is up 33.03 points or 1.1 percent at 2,943.07 and the S&P 500 is up 8.53 points or 0.6 percent at 1,372.20.
For comments and feedback contact: editorial@rttnews.com
Market Analysis
June 05, 2026 16:18 ET A busy week for economic news flow saw a slew of reports being released that reflected the trends in the U.S. labor market. In Europe, economic growth and inflation data gained attention as the European Central Bank and Bank of England head for policy session later in the month. In Asia, the monetary policy session of the Indian central bank was in focus as the country, a major oil importer, reels under the pressures of a weaker rupee and rising inflation.