After showing a strong upward move at the start of trading on Thursday, stocks have given back some ground over the course of the morning but remain mostly positive. While the major averages have pulled back well off their best levels of the day, they are holding onto strong gains.
The initial strength in the markets came as traders reacted positively to a report from the Labor Department showing a much bigger than expected drop in first-time claims for unemployment benefits in the week ended September 4th.
With the upbeat jobs data easing some of the recent concerns about the economic outlook, banking stocks are posting particularly strong gains in late morning trading. The Kbw Bank Index is currently up by 2.5 percent after reaching its best intraday level in almost a month.
Significant strength is also visible in a variety of other sectors, with healthcare provider, brokerage, and oil service stocks posting notable gains. On the other hand, gold stocks have come under pressure amid a decrease by the price of the precious metal.
The major averages have moved roughly sideways in recent trading, hovering firmly in positive territory. The Dow is currently up 67.73 points or 0.7 percent at 10,454.74, the Nasdaq is up 16.23 points or 0.7 percent at 2,245.10 and the S&P 500 is up 9.86 points or 0.9 percent at 1,108.73.
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