Stocks in Green in Mid-Day Trading; Focus Remains on Italy

Stocks are holding on to their gains in mid-day trading, with all three major indexes currently in green. Stocks have been pushed higher by better than expected initial jobless claims data for the latest week.

At last check, the Dow Jones was trading 0.94% higher at 11,891.29, the S&P 500 was trading 0.78% higher at 1,238.66, and the Nasdaq was trading 0.21% higher at 2,627.10.

All sectors in the S&P 500 have remained in green in mid-day trading. Conglomerates are continuing to lead the gains in the S&P 500. At last check, Conglomerates were trading 1.68% higher. Energy stocks are also sharply higher in mid-day trading. At last check, Energy stocks were trading 1.35% higher.

Among the major gainers in mid-day trading are Cisco Systems Inc. (NASDAQ: CSCO), which is currently trading 6.87% higher at $18.82, Kohl’s Corporation (NYSE: KSS), which is currently trading 3.33% higher at $56.10, and Kulicke & Soffa Industries Inc. (NASDAQ: KLIC), which is currently trading 6.56% higher at $9.74.

Stocks have been pushed higher today by better than expected jobless claims data. The figures released by the Labor Department earlier today showed that jobless claims fell to 390,000, a level not seen since April.

Meanwhile, a separate economic report today showed that the U.S. trade deficit narrowed in the month of September. According to figures released by the Commerce Department, the U.S. trade deficit narrowed 4% to $43.1 billion in September as exports rose 1.4% to a record $180.4 billion.

The strong economic data released in the U.S. has given some relief to investors after Wednesday’s huge sell-off. However, the relief is likely to be temporary as Italy remains under pressure. The yields on Italian bonds came down today after the European Central Bank intervened in the bond markets. An Italian debt auction also went through earlier today, although the country had to pay record yields.

Although the yields on Italian debt came down today, they are still at an unsustainable level. Investors are now hoping that the European Central Bank will continue to buy Italian debt to bring down the country’s borrowing costs. Meanwhile, the political situation in Italy remains uncertain.

Post Written By: Ed Liston Ed Liston is a senior contributing editor at TheStockMarketWatch.com. An active market watcher and investor, Ed guides an independent team of experienced analysts and writes for multiple stock trader publications. He is widely quoted in various financial publications on the Internet. When Ed is not writing about stocks, investing in stocks, talking about stocks, or otherwise doing something stock related, he likes to go sailing and fishing in his yacht.