Stocks have moved mostly higher over the course of the trading day on Tuesday after showing a lack of direction earlier in the session. The major averages have climbed more firmly into positive territory, offsetting the modest losses posted in the previous session.
The major averages have moved roughly sideways in recent trading, hovering near their new highs for the session. The Dow is up 72.35 points or 0.5 percent at 15,407.63, the Nasdaq is up 11.96 points or 0.3 percent at 3,507.39 and the S&P 500 is up 5.96 points or 0.4 percent at 1,672.25.
The strength that has emerged on Wall Street reflects a positive reaction to comments from Federal Reserve officials easing concerns about the central bank paring back its asset purchase program.
In a speech in Frankfurt, St. Louis Fed President James Bullard said quantitative easing has been the most reliable tool while interest rates have been near zero and said the Fed should continue with the program.
However, Bullard noted that the rate of purchases should be adjusted appropriately in view of incoming data on both real economic performance and inflation.
New York Fed President William Dudley delivered a separate speech in New York indicating that the central bank should be prepared to adjust the pace of purchases up or down as the labor market and inflation outlook changes.
Responding to Dudley's remarks, Chris Low, chief economist at FTN Financial, said, "It was about as neutral as a statement could be, but the market is rallying because … the market has convinced itself the Fed is going to taper."
Trucking stocks continue to see considerable strength in mid-afternoon trading, with the Dow Jones Trucking Index up by 1.8 percent. With the upward move, the index has reached a record high.
Considerable strength also remains visible among steel stocks, as reflected by the 1.4 percent gain being posted by the NYSE Arca Steel Index.
Telecom, retail, and biotechnology stocks have also moved to the upside on the day, while gold stocks continue to see significant weakness.
In overseas trading, stock markets across the Asia-Pacific region turned in a mixed performance during trading on Tuesday. While Japan's Nikkei 225 Index inched up by 0.1 percent, Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index ended the day down by 0.5 percent.
Meanwhile, the major European markets moved to the upside on the day. The U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index advanced by 0.7 percent, while the French CAC 40 Index and the German DAX Index edged up by 0.3 percent and 0.2 percent, respectively.
In the bond market, treasuries have moved notably higher over the course of the session after seeing early weakness. Subsequently, the yield on the benchmark ten-year note, which moves opposite of its price, is down by 3.7 basis points at 1.928 percent after reaching a high of 1.998 percent.
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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.