Stocks are seeing modest strength in mid-day trading on Monday, adding to the slim gains posted in the previous session. Earlier in the day, the Dow climbed to another new record intraday high.
The tech-heavy Nasdaq reached a new high for the session in recent trading and is currently up 26.87 points or 0.4 percent at 6,378.43. The Dow is up 13.19 points or 0.1 percent at 22,106.00, and the S&P 500 is up 1.61 points or 0.1 percent at 2,478.44.
The modest strength on Wall Street may reflect ongoing positive sentiment following last Friday's upbeat monthly jobs report.
A Labor Department report said non-farm payroll employment surged up by 209,000 jobs in July after spiking by an upwardly revised 231,000 jobs in June. Economists had expected employment to climb by 183,000 jobs.
The stronger than expected job growth added to optimism about the economy but also raised concerns about the outlook for interest rates.
However, a lack of major U.S. economic data is keeping some traders on the sidelines ahead of reports on producer and consumer price inflation and labor productivity and costs in the coming days.
Remarks by several Federal Reserve officials may also attract attention this week, as traders look for clues about the future of monetary policy.
Traders may also be reluctant to make significant moves amid geopolitical uncertainty after the United Nations imposed stringent new sanctions on North Korea for its escalating nuclear and missile programs.
Among individual stocks, shares of NxStage Medical (NXTM) have moved sharply higher after the medical technology and services company agreed to be acquired by Fresenius Medical Care (FMS) for about $2 billion.
Biopharmaceutical company Horizon Pharma (HZNP) is also posting a standout gain after reporting better than expected second quarter results and providing upbeat guidance.
Meanwhile, shares of Zynerba Pharmaceuticals (ZYNE) have come under pressure after the drug developer said its synthetic cannabis-based gel to treat epilepsy failed a mid-stage study.
Sector News
Steel stocks have shown a substantial move to the upside on the day, with the NYSE Arca Steel Index jumping by 2.2 percent. Brazil's CSN (SID), Mechel (MT), and Gerdau (GGB) are posting notable gains.
Considerable strength has also emerged among semiconductor stocks, as reflected by the 1.4 percent gain being posted by the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index. ON Semiconductor (ON) is leading the sector higher after reporting a spike in second quarter profits.
On the other hand, oil service stocks continue to see significant weakness in mid-day trading, dragging the Philadelphia Oil Service Index down by 1.7 percent.
The weakness among oil service stocks comes amid a decrease by the price of crude oil, with crude for September delivery tumbling $0.88 to $48.70 a barrel.
Natural gas stocks have also come under pressure on the day, resulting in a 1.7 percent drop by the NYSE Arca Natural Gas Index. The index has fallen to its lowest intraday level in a month.
Other Markets
In overseas trading, stock markets across the Asia-Pacific region moved mostly higher during trading on Monday. Japan's Nikkei 225 Index, Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index and China's Shanghai Composite Index all climbed by 0.5 percent.
Meanwhile, the major European markets turned in a mixed performance on the day. While the German DAX Index fell by 0.3 percent, the French CAC 40 Index inched up by 0.1 and the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index rose by 0.3 percent.
In the bond market, treasuries have moved slightly higher over the course of the session. As a result, the yield on the benchmark ten-year note, which moves opposite of its price, is down by nearly a basis point at 2.258 percent.
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