After showing a substantial upward move in early trading on Wednesday, stocks have continued to perform well over the course of the morning. The major averages are holding onto strong gains, more than offsetting the steep losses seen on Monday.
The strength in the markets reflects a positive reaction to some better than expected readings on manufacturing activity in both the U.S. and China. The data has led traders to shrug off a separate report showing an unexpected drop in private sector employment in August.
Nearly all of the major sectors are showing strong moves to the upside on the day, reflecting broad based buying interest. Oil service stocks are turning in some of the best performances, while considerable strength is also visible among computer hardware, healthcare provider, and semiconductor stocks.
Meanwhile, gold stocks are bucking the uptrend by the broader markets amid a decrease by the price of the precious metal. The NYSE Arca Gold Bugs Index is currently down by 1.3 percent after ending the previous session at a two-month closing high.
The major averages currently remain firmly in positive territory, hovering near their highs for the session. The Dow is up 250.10 points or 2.5 percent at 10,264.82, the Nasdaq is up 62.37 points or 3 percent at 2,176.40 and the S&P 500 is up 29.61 points or 2.8 percent at 1,078.94.
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