Stocks remain mostly positive in mid-afternoon trading on Monday after showing a strong move to the upside earlier in the session. The major averages are adding to last Friday's standout gains and are poised to end the day at three-month closing highs.
The markets continue to benefit from a positive reaction to last week's relatively upbeat U.S. jobs report as well as optimism that the European Central Bank will take additional steps to address the ongoing debt crisis across the Atlantic.
Steel stocks have moved sharply higher on the day, resulting in a 3.2 percent gain by the NYSE Arca Steel Index. The index has reached its best intraday level in almost a month amid strong gains by AK Steel (AKS) and A.M. Castle (CAS).
Considerable strength also remains visible among gold stocks, which have moved higher along with the price of the precious metal. With gold for December delivery climbing $6.90 to $1,616.20 an ounce, the NYSE Arca Gold Bugs Index has advanced by 3.2 percent.
Networking stocks are also seeing significant strength on the day, as reflected by the 2.7 percent gain being posted by the NYSE Arca Networking Index. Airline, software and computer hardware stocks are also posting notable gains, moving higher along with most of the major sectors.
The major averages are currently all in positive territory, although the tech-heavy Nasdaq is outperforming its counterparts. While the Nasdaq is up 29.52 points or 1 percent at 2,997.42, the Dow is up 72.35 points or 0.6 percent at 13,168.52 and the S&P 500 is up 7.34 points or 0.5 percent at 1,398.33.
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Market Analysis
June 12, 2026 17:14 ET Major central bank action was the focus this week in economic news. The European Central Bank became the first major central bank to move in response to the rising inflationary pressures in the backdrop of the conflict in the Middle East. In North America, the U.S. inflation and trade data as well as Canada’s central bank decision gained attention. The Chinese trade data was the main news in Asia.