After moving higher at the start of trading on Friday, stocks have continued to perform well throughout the session. The markets have benefited from some upbeat economic data after a disappointing batch of data helped drag stocks lower on Thursday.
Oil service stocks are turning in some of the market's best performances on the day, resulting in a 1.5 percent gain by the Philadelphia Oil Service Index. With the gain, the index has risen to its best intraday level in well over a year.
Within the oil service sector, Nabors Industries (NBR) and Helmerich & Payne (HP) are posting notable gains, advancing by 3 percent and 2.9 percent, respectively.
Significant strength has also emerged among brokerage stocks, as reflected by the 1.5 percent gain being posted by the NYSE Arca Broker/Dealer Index. A strong gain by Nomura Holdings (NMR) has helped lift the index to a two-year intraday high.
Banking, defense, and housing stocks have also shown strong moves to the upside on the day, moving higher along with most of the other major sectors.
Meanwhile, gold stocks have come under considerable selling pressure, moving lower along with the price of the precious metal. With gold for June delivery sliding $24.90 to $1,362 an ounce, the NYSE Arca Gold Bugs Index is down by 3.1 percent.
The major averages have moved roughly sideways in recent trading, hovering firmly in positive territory. The Dow is up 59.65 points or 0.4 percent at 15,292.87, the Nasdaq is up 16.18 points or 0.5 percent at 3,481.42 and the S&P 500 is up 7.87 points or 0.5 percent at 1,658.34.
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