Before the start of trading, the Labor Department released a report showing that initial jobless claims fell to 565,000 in the week ended July 4th. With the decrease, jobless claims fell below the 600,000 level for the first time since January.
Semiconductor stocks are helping to lead the way higher, while significant strength has also emerged among banking, steel, and housing stocks. On the other hand, healthcare provider stocks are bucking the uptrend.
In the past few minutes, the major averages have pulled back off their highs for the young session, although they remain firmly positive. The Dow is currently up 39.45 at 8,217.86, the Nasdaq is up 12.15 at 1,759.32 and the S&P 500 is up 5.66 at 885.22.
For comments and feedback: contact editorial@rttnews.com Copyright(c) 2009 RTTNews.com, Inc. All Rights Reserved

More News:
Market Updates |
Stock Alerts |
All Trading News |
Stock Index