After moving higher at the open, stocks have continued to perform well over the course of morning trading on Thursday. While buying interest has been relatively subdued, the major averages have remained firmly in positive territory.
The strength on Wall Street is partly due to the release of some upbeat economic data, including a report from the Labor Department showing that initial jobless claims fell to a five-year low last week.
Nonetheless, a negative reaction to quarterly results from Citigroup (C) and Bank of America (BAC) has helped to limit the upside for the markets along with lingering concerns about the debt ceiling.
healthcare provider stocks have moved substantially higher, however, with the Morgan Stanley Healthcare Provider up by 1.6 percent. With the gain, the index has reached a record intraday high.
Considerable strength is also visible among housing stocks, which have moved higher following a report showing a jump in housing starts. Semiconductor, networking, and natural gas stocks have also moved to the upside on the day.
The major averages have pulled back off their highs for the session in recent trading but are holding on to gains. The Dow is up 57.83 points or 0.4 percent at 13,569.06, the Nasdaq is up 11.62 points or 0.4 percent at 3,129.16 and the S&P 500 is up 5.23 points or 0.4 percent at 1,477.86.
by RTT Staff Writer
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