Stocks have moved mostly higher in morning trading on Tuesday, extending the upward move seen over the course of the previous session. With the continued advance, the major averages have all reached new record intraday highs.
Currently, the major averages all remain in positive territory, although the Dow is posting a relatively modest gain. While the Dow is up 59.18 points or 0.2 percent at 29,336.00, the Nasdaq is up 76.54 points or 0.8 percent at 9,704.92 and the S&P 500 is up 17.64 points or 0.5 percent at 3,369.73.
The climb to new record highs comes as traders continue to shrug off concerns about the economic impact of the deadly coronavirus outbreak.
Several companies have already warned about the impact of the virus, but traders seem confident the U.S. economy is strong enough to withstand the negative effects.
Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell said during testimony before the House Financial Services Committee that the central bank is closely monitoring the coronavirus outbreak but also highly the resilience of the U.S. economy.
In prepared remarks, Powell noted some of the uncertainties around trade have diminished following the signing of the phase one U.S.-China trade deal but cautioned risks to the outlook remain.
“In particular, we are closely monitoring the emergence of the coronavirus, which could lead to disruptions in China that spill over to the rest of the global economy,” Powell said.
However, Powell pointed out that the U.S. economy has recently appeared resilient to global headwinds, with economic activity increasing at a moderate pace over the second half of last year.
Telecom stocks have moved sharply higher in morning trading, with the NYSE Arca North American Telecom Index spiking by 5.7 percent to its best intraday level in well over a year.
Sprint (S) is leading the way higher, soaring by 70.5 percent following news T-Mobile (TMUS) has won court approval for its $26.5 billion takeover of the telecom company.
Substantial strength is also visible among semiconductor stocks, as reflected by the 2.4 percent jump by the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index.
Steel, brokerage, and networking stocks are also seeing significant strength, moving higher along with most of the other major sectors.
Meanwhile, tobacco stocks are bucking the uptrend, giving back ground after moving sharply higher in the previous session.
In overseas trading, stock markets across the Asia-Pacific region moved mostly higher during trading on Tuesday. China’s Shanghai Composite Index rose by 0.4 percent, while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index jumped by 1.3 percent. The Japanese markets were closed for a holiday.
The major European markets have also moved to the upside on the day. While the German DAX Index has surged up by 1.2 percent, the U.K.’s FTSE 100 Index is up by 0.9 percent and the French CAC 40 Index is up by 0.7 percent.
In the bond market, treasuries are giving back ground after moving notably higher over the two previous sessions. Subsequently, the yield on the benchmark ten-year note, which moves opposite of its price, is up by 4.5 basis points at 1.592 percent.
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