With traders digesting remarks from Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke, stocks have seen considerable volatility over the course of the trading day on Wednesday but are moving mostly higher in mid-day trading.
Gold stocks are seeing substantial strength in mid-day trading, moving back to the upside after giving back some ground on Tuesday. The NYSE Arca Gold Bugs Index has surged up by 2.1 percent, climbing further off last Friday's four-month closing low.
The strength among gold stocks comes even though the price of the precious metal has turned lower on the day, with gold for June delivery sliding $2.90 to $1,374.70 an ounce.
Significant strength is also visible among housing stocks, as reflected by the 2.1 percent gain being posted by the Philadelphia Housing Sector Index. Luxury homebuilder Toll Brothers (TOL) is leading the sector higher after reporting much stronger than expected second quarter earnings growth.
Pharmaceutical stocks have also shown a strong move to the upside on the day, driving the NYSE Arca Pharmaceutical Index up by 1.5 percent. With the gain, the index has reached a twelve-year high.
Banking, electronic storage, and healthcare provider stocks are also posting notable gains, moving higher along with most of the major sectors.
The major averages have moved to the upside in recent trading and are currently posting notable gains. The Dow is up 112.66 points or 0.7 percent at 15,500.24, the Nasdaq is up 19.36 points or 0.6 percent at 3,521.49 and the S&P 500 is up 11.50 points or 0.7 percent at 1,680.66.
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