With traders reacting positively to the latest news out of Europe, stocks moved to the upside at the start of trading on Friday. The major averages all climbed into positive territory after ending the previous session on opposite sides of the unchanged line.
The major averages have pulled back off their highs for the young session but currently remain in positive territory. The Dow is up 26.40 points or 0.2 percent at 13,623.33, the Nasdaq is up 16.49 points or 0.5 percent at 3,192.45 and the S&P 500 is up 5.10 points or 0.4 percent at 1,465.36.
The initial strength on Wall Street was partly due to a report from the Financial Times indicating that European Union officials are working behind the scenes to pave the way for a new Spanish rescue program and unlimited bond buying by the European Central Bank.
Citing officials involved in the discussions, FT said the talks are focused on ensuring that the measures that will be required by international lenders as part of a new rescue program are in place before a bailout is formally requested.
Peter Boockvar, managing director at Miller Tabak, said, "While discussions are ongoing, it doesn't mean Spain will be so quick to ask for the help as right now seems to be a fact finding mission for Spanish officials on what the conditions they will be subject to if need be."
Oil service stocks have shown a strong upward move in early trading, benefiting from a rebound by the price of crude oil. With crude for November delivery climbing $0.86 to $93.28 a barrel, the Philadelphia Oil Service Index is up by 1.6 percent.
Considerable strength has also emerged among gold stocks, which are moving higher along with the price of the precious metal. Housing, telecom, and electronic storage stocks are also seeing early strength, although buying interest is somewhat subdued.
Among individual stocks, Apple (AAPL) is moving moderately higher as the company's highly anticipated iPhone 5 hits stores around the globe. Shares of Apple are up by 0.6 percent.
Business software giant Oracle (ORCL) is also moving higher after releasing its fiscal first quarter results after the close of trading on Thursday.
Oracle reported first quarter adjusted earnings of $0.53 per share, in line with analyst estimates. However, the company said its revenues dipped 2 percent to $8.18 billion, coming in below expectations.
Shares of KB Home (KBH) have surged up by 6.6 percent after the homebuilder unexpectedly reported a third quarter profit compared to a year-ago loss.
In overseas trading, stock markets across the Asia-Pacific region moved mostly higher during trading on Friday. Japan's Nikkei 225 ended the day up by 0.3 percent, while Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index advanced by 0.7 percent.
The major European markets have also moved to the upside on the day. While the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index is just above the unchanged line, the French CAC 40 Index is up by 0.6 percent and the German DAX Index is up by 1.1 percent.
In the bond market, treasuries have moved modestly lower after trending higher over the past week. As a result, the yield on the benchmark ten-year note, which moves opposite of its price, is up by 1.6 basis points at 1.793 percent.
by RTT Staff Writer
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