Stocks moved sharply higher over the course of the trading day on Thursday, regaining some ground after moving notably lower over the past few sessions. The markets benefited from a positive reaction to the release of a batch of upbeat economic data.
Steel stocks showed a substantial upward move over the course of the session, driving the NYSE Arca Steel Index up by 3.8 percent. The gain by the index came after it ended the previous session at its worst closing level in almost four years.
Cliffs Natural Resources (CLF) Gerdau (GGB), and U.S. Steel (X) turned in some of the steel sector's best performances.
Significant strength also emerged among housing stocks, as reflected by the 3.9 percent gain posted by the Philadelphia Housing Sector Index. KB Home (KBH) and Ryland Group (RYL) posted standout gains on the day.
Commercial real estate stocks also moved notably higher after falling sharply in recent weeks. The Morgan Stanley REIT Index jumped 2.6 percent after ending the previous session at a nearly five-month closing low.
Networking, brokerage, semiconductor, and transportation stocks also saw considerable strength amid broad based buying interest on Wall Street.
The major averages pulled back off their highs going into the close but still closed firmly in positive territory. The Dow surged up 180.85 points or 1.2 percent to 15,176.08, the Nasdaq jumped 44.93 points or 1.3 percent to 3,445.37 and the S&P 500 soared 23.84 points or 1.5 percent to 1,636.36.
For comments and feedback: editorial@rttnews.com