Stocks Holding On To Strong Gains In Mid-Afternoon Trading - U.S. Commentary

8/7/2012 2:07 PM ET

Stocks are extending a recent upward move during trading on Tuesday, as traders express optimism about the possibility of further monetary stimulus. The major averages have moved notably higher, rising to new three-month highs.

Much of the strength on Wall Street stems from optimism that the European Central Bank will unveil additional measures to address the ongoing debt crisis following the release of disappointing economic data from the region.

Buying interest has also been generated by comments by Boston Federal Reserve President Eric Rosengren, who called for an "open-ended" quantitative easing program to boost economic growth during an interview with CNBC.

"What I would argue for, actually, is to have it open ended. That we focus on economic outcomes," Rosengren said. "I would argue that if we do a quantitative easing program, again, we should be using economic outcomes as what we're trying to get."

Brokerage stocks have shown a strong move to the upside, driving the NYSE Arca Broker/Dealer Index up by 2.6 percent. Jefferies (JEF: Quote) has helped to lead the sector higher, surging up by 9.4 percent.

Significant strength also remains visible among natural gas stocks, as reflected by the 2.8 percent gain being posted by the NYSE Arca Natural Gas Index. Chesapeake Energy (CHK: Quote) continues to post a standout gain after reporting strong second quarter profit growth.

Networking, semiconductor, and health insurance stocks are also posting notable gains, moving higher along with most of the major sectors. On the other hand, airline and commercial real estate stocks are bucking the upward trend.

The major averages have been rangebound in recent trading, holding on to strong gains. The Dow is up 91.96 points or 0.7 percent at 13,209.47, the Nasdaq is up 34.14 points or 1.1 percent at 3,024.05 and the S&P 500 is up 11.53 points or 0.8 percent at 1,405.76.