Stocks have turned higher over the course of morning trading on Thursday, recovering from the modest move to the downside seen in early trading. The major averages have bounced off their lows for the session and into positive territory.
The rebound on Wall Street comes following the release of some relatively upbeat jobs data, which helped to offset some disappointing earnings news.
A report from the Labor Department showed that jobless claims came in at 351,000 in the week ended February 18th, unchanged from the previous week's revised figure. While the figure for the previous week was upwardly revised, jobless claims remain at their lowest level in almost four years.
The early weakness was partly due to a negative reaction to quarterly results from Hewlett-Packard (HPQ), which came on the heels of disappointing earnings news from rival Dell (DELL).
Biotechnology stocks have shown a strong move to the upside on the day, driving the NYSE Arca Biotechnology Index up by 1.7 percent. Vivus (VVUS) is posting a standout gain after a FDA advisory panel recommended approval of the company's weight-loss drug Qnexa.
Housing, gold, and brokerage stocks have also moved notably higher over the course of the morning, while most of the major sectors are showing only modest moves.
The major averages are currently posting modest gains, near their highs for the session. The Dow is up 43.06 points or 0.3 percent at 12,981.73, the Nasdaq is up 16.24 points or 0.6 percent at 2,949.41 and the S&P 500 is up 2.56 points or 0.2 percent at 1,360.22.
For comments and feedback: editorial@rttnews.com