Stocks moved sharply higher in early trading on Tuesday, regaining ground after closing lower for five consecutive sessions. The major averages have pulled back off their best levels since then but remain firmly positive.
Currently, the major averages are all posting strong gains. The Dow is up 284.13 points or 1.0 percent at 29,544.94, the Nasdaq is up 172.69 points or 1.6 percent at 10,975.61 and the S&P 500 is up 42.99 points or 1.2 percent at 3,698.03.
Bargain hunting is contributing to the rebound on Wall Street, as traders pick up stocks at reduced levels following recent weakness.
The Dow and the S&P 500 ended Monday's trading at their lowest closing levels since late 2020, while the Nasdaq fell to a three-month closing low.
A pullback by the value of the U.S. dollar has also generated some buying interest, although treasury yields have rebounded after an early move to the downside.
Concerns about higher interest rates and the outlook for the global economy also continue to weigh on the markets, potentially limiting the upside.
On the U.S. economic front, a report released by the Commerce Department showed a modest decrease in new orders for U.S. manufactured durable goods in the month of August.
The Commerce Department said durable goods orders slipped by 0.2 percent in August after edging down by 0.1 percent in July. Economists had expected durable goods orders to decrease by 0.4 percent.
Excluding a steep drop in orders for transportation equipment, durable goods orders inched up by 0.2 percent in August, matching the uptick seen in July as well as economist estimates.
Meanwhile, a separate Commerce Department report unexpectedly showed a substantial rebound in new home sales in the month of August.
The report showed new home sales skyrocketed by 28.8 percent to an annual rate of 685,000 in August after plunging by 8.6 percent to a revised rate of 532,000 in July.
The surge surprised economists, who had expected new home sales to slump by 2.2 percent to an annual rate of 500,000 from the 511,000 originally reported for the previous month.
The sharp increase came after new home sales tumbled to their lowest annual rate since hitting 532,000 in March 2016.
The Conference Board also released a report showing a bigger than expected improvement in consumer confidence in the month of September.
The organization said its consumer confidence index climbed to 108.0 in September from an upwardly revised 103.6 in August.
Economists had expected the consumer confidence index to inch up to 104.3 from the 103.2 originally reported for the previous month.
Energy stocks have helped lead the way back to the upside, rebounding along with the price of crude oil. Crude for November delivery is surging $2.43 to $79.16 a barrel after tumbling to a nearly nine-month low on Monday.
Reflecting the strength in the energy sector, the Philadelphia Oil Service Index is up by 4.3 percent and the NYSE Arca Oil Index is up by 2.9 percent.
Substantial strength is also visible among airline stocks, with the NYSE Arca Airline Index soaring by 3.2 percent after ending the previous session at its lowest closing level in over two years.
Steel, gold and computer hardware stocks are also seeing significant strength on the day, moving higher along with most of the other major sectors.
In overseas trading, stock markets across the Asia-Pacific region moved mostly higher during trading on Tuesday. Japan's Nikkei 225 Index rose by 0.5 percent, while China's Shanghai Composite Index surged by 1.4 percent.
Meanwhile, the major European markets have turned the day. While the German DAX Index has edged down by 0.1 percent, the French CAC 40 Index is up by 0.1 percent and the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index is up by 0.5 percent.
In the bond market, treasuries have come under pressure over the course of the morning after seeing initial strength. Subsequently, the yield on the benchmark ten-year note, which moves opposite of its price, is up by 4.7 basis points at 3.925 percent.
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