Stocks are seeing modest strength in early trading on Friday, adding to the gains posted in the two previous sessions. The major averages have all moved to the upside, climbing further off the monthly lows set earlier this week.
The early strength in the markets may be partly due to the release of a report from the Commerce Department showing continued personal income and spending growth in the month of April.
The report showed that personal income rose by 0.4 percent in April, matching the increases seen in each of the two previous months. Personal spending also rose by 0.4 percent in April following a 0.5 percent increase in March.
However, when factoring in the recent increases in prices, disposable income was nearly unchanged and spending showing only a modest increase.
Gold stocks are helping to lead the markets higher, benefiting from an increase by the price of the precious metal. With gold for August delivery rising $6.40 to $1,530.10 an ounce, the NYSE Arca Gold Bugs Index is up by 1.6 percent.
Steel, oil service, and natural gas stocks are also moving to the upside, reflecting strength throughout the resource sector amid increases in commodities prices.
Early strength is also visible among semiconductor stocks, with Marvell Technology (MRVL) leading the way higher after the chip maker reported weaker than expected first quarter earnings but provided upbeat second quarter guidance.
While Marvell reported first quarter earnings of $0.29 per share, a penny below analyst estimates, it forecast second quarter earnings of $0.37 per share on revenues of $870 million to $910 million compared to analyst estimates for earnings of $0.34 per share on revenues of $875.4 million.
The major averages have seen some further upside in the past few minutes, rising to new highs for the session. The Dow is up 56.27 points or 0.5 percent at 12,459.03, the Nasdaq is up 9.93 points or 0.4 percent at 2,792.85 and the S&P 500 is up 6.15 points or 0.5 percent at 1,331.84.
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May 08, 2026 15:50 ET Manufacturing and services sector survey results and labor market data from main economies were the highlight on the economics news front this week. Factory orders and jobs report dominated the news flow in the U.S. Similarly, industrial production data from German garnered attention in Europe. In Asia, purchasing managers’ survey results from China and the central bank decision from Australia were in focus.