U.S. Stocks Moving Higher For Fifth Consecutive Session

(RTTNews) - Stocks have moved moderately higher during trading on Friday, as traders return to their desks following the Thanksgiving Day holiday on Thursday. The major averages have all climbed into positive territory, extending the upward trend seen over the past several sessions.

Currently, the Dow is up 256.95 points or 0.5 percent at 47,684.07, the Nasdaq is up 72.17 points or 0.3 percent at 23,286.86 and the S&P 500 is up 21.94 points or 0.3 percent at 6,834.55.

Stocks are adding to the gains seen in the days leading up to yesterday's holiday, when the major averages closed higher for four straight sessions.

The advance has helped the major averages climb well off the lows set last Thursday, as traders seemingly shrug off short-lived concerns about valuations.

Renewed optimism about the outlook for interest rates has contributed to the recent rebound following dovish comments from leading Federal Reserve officials.

While concerns the Fed may leave interest rates unchanged next month contributed to the pullback by stocks earlier this month, CME Group's FedWatch Tool is currently indicating an 86.9 percent chance the central bank will cut rates by another quarter point at its December meeting.

Buying interest appears somewhat subdued, however, as some traders likely remain away from their desks following the holiday.

A trading disruption at the Chicago Mercantile Exchange earlier in the day along with an early close on Wall Street may also be keeping some traders on the sidelines along with a lack of major U.S. economic data.

Sector News

Oil service stocks have shown a significant move to the upside amid an increase by the price of crude oil, driving the Philadelphia Oil Service Index up by 1.8 percent.

Considerable strength is also visible among computer hardware stocks, as reflected by the 1.8 percent gain being posted by the NYSE Arca Computer Hardware Index.

Gold, oil producer and natural gas stocks are also seeing notable strength, while pharmaceutical stocks have moved to the downside.

Other Markets

In overseas trading, stock markets across the Asia-Pacific region turned in a mixed performance on Friday. Japan's Nikkei 225 Index and China's Shanghai Composite Index rose by 0.2 percent and 0.3 percent, respectively, while South Korea's Kospi slumped by 1.5 percent.

Meanwhile, the major European markets have all moved to the upside on the day. While the German DAX Index is up by 0.5 percent, the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index and the French CAC 40 Index are both up by 0.4 percent.

In the bond market, treasuries have moved lower after ending the previous session roughly flat. As a result, the yield on the benchmark ten-year note, which moves opposite of its price, is up by 2.9 basis points at 4.027 percent.