Stocks have largely rebounded after a late-morning dip on Friday, with some traders encouraged by the day's upbeat inventories data. The move has come on below average trading volume, however, with many market participants staying away from their desks this week.
The Dow is up by 45.48 points or 0.4 percent at 10,461.03, the Nasdaq is up by 5.22 points or 0.2 percent at 2,241.39 and the S&P 500 is up by 5.27 points or 0.5 percent at 1,109.40.
On the economic front today, the Commerce Department released data showing that wholesale inventories rose by 1.3 percent in July, which was much more than the expected increase of 0.4 percent. The jump in inventories marked the largest increase since July of 2008.
The markets also looked to President Barack Obama, as he discussed economic policy along with a host of other issues in a press conference at the White House. Obama continued promote his plans to extend tax cuts for the middle class, increase business tax write-offs, and spending an additional $50 billion on infrastructure projects.
In global economic news, official data released from China revealed that the country's trade surplus narrowed in August as import growth picked up at a faster pace and export growth slowed.
In Japan, the Cabinet Office revealed that the country's gross domestic product or GDP for the second quarter was revised higher along with annualized GDP.
In corporate news, chipmaker Texas Instruments Inc. (TXN) is down after the company narrowed its earnings and revenue outlook for the third quarter, but maintained the midpoint of the forecast ranges.
The forecast came as another indication of a waning rebound in worldwide chip market, after Intel (INTC) lowered its third quarter revenue view last month.
Also in the semiconductor sector, National Semiconductor (NSM) is lower after the company said it expects second quarter revenue of $390 million to $415 million, lower than the consensus estimate of $418.64 million.
Oil service, tobacco and defense stocks remains sharply higher in the broader market, while semiconductor stocks remain under pressure, but have come off of their worst levels.
Chevron (CVX) is one of the leading percentage gainers in the Dow, rising by 1.4 percent. The advance has the stock on pace for a one-month closing high.
Merck (MRK) and IBM Corp. (IBM) are also seeing strong gains, rising by 1.5 percent and 1.4 percent, respectively. Merck is on pace for a five-month closing high, while IBM is looking to end at its best level in three weeks.
3m (MMM), Home Depot (HD) and Pfizer (PFE) are also sharply higher, while weakness is present among shares of Hewlett Packard (HPQ) and American Express (AXP), both down by over 1 percent.
Other Markets
Overseas, stock markets in the Asia-Pacific region ended up by varied margins on Friday. Japan's benchmark Nikkei 225 Index rose by 0.4 percent, while Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index advanced by 1.6 percent.
Meanwhile, the major European ended the day little changed. The U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index and the French CAC 40 Index gained 0.2 percent and 0.1 percent, respectively, while the German DAX Index slid by 0.1 percent.
In the bond markets, treasuries are on pace for a modestly lower close. Subsequently, the yield on the benchmark ten-year note, which moves opposite of its price, is trading at 2.788 percent, posting a gain of 2.7 basis points.
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