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Stocks have moved mostly higher during trading on Thursday, with the major averages all moving to the upside after ending yesterday’s volatile session mixed.<\/p>\n
Currently, the major averages are all in positive territory but off their highs of the session. The Nasdaq is up 155.17 points or 0.7 percent at 22,825.25, the S&P 500 is up 25.98 points or 0.4 percent at 6,697.04 and the Dow is up 103.49 points or 0.2 percent at 46,356.80.<\/p>\n
The upward move on Wall Street partly reflects strength among technology<\/span> stocks, as reflected by the notable advance by the tech-heavy Nasdaq.<\/p>\n The tech sector has benefitted from upbeat earnings news from Taiwan Semiconductor (TSM), although the chipmaker has dipped by 0.4 percent after reaching a record intraday high.<\/p>\n Taiwan Semiconductor, which produces chips for Nvidia (NVDA), reported a bigger than expected surge in third quarter profits amid strong AI chip demand and raised its forecast for full-year revenue growth.<\/p>\n AI darling and market leader Nvidia has jumped by 1.5 percent following the news, while fellow AI player Broadcom (AVGO) has shot up by 2.5 percent.<\/p>\n Micron Technology (MU) has also spiked by 6.5 percent after UBS raised price target on the chipmaker’s stock to $245 from $225 per share, saying the company could get a boost from a memory chip shortage.<\/p>\n The uptick by the Dow partly reflects a sharp increase by shares of Salesforce (CRM), with the software company surging by 4.5 percent after forecasting stronger than expected revenue of over $60 billion in 2030.<\/p>\n On the other hand, a 2.9 percent slump by shares of Travelers (TRV) is limiting the upside for the blue chip index after the insurance company reported weaker than expected third quarter revenues.<\/p>\n Sector News<\/p>\n Gold stocks are extending the recent rally along with the price of the precious metal, with the NYSE Gold Bugs Index jumping by 3.3 percent to a new record intraday high.<\/p>\n Significant strength is also visible among biotechnology stocks, as reflected by the 1.6 percent gain being posted by the NYSE Arca Biotechnology Index.<\/p>\n Transportation and semiconductor stocks are also seeing notable strength on the day, while oil service and banking stocks are seeing some weakness.<\/p>\n Other Markets<\/p>\n In overseas trading, stock markets<\/span> across the Asia-Pacific region moved mostly higher during trading on Thursday. Japan’s Nikkei 225 Index jumped by 1.3 percent, while Australia’s S&P\/ASX 200 Index advanced by 0.9 percent.<\/p>\n Meanwhile, the major European markets are turning in a mixed performance on the day. While the French CAC 40 Index is up by 0.9 percent, the German DAX Index is just below the unchanged line and the U.K.’s FTSE 100 Index is down by 0.2 percent.<\/p>\n In the bond market, treasuries have shown a lack of direction over the course of the session. Currently, the yield on the benchmark ten-year note, which moves opposite of its price, is down by less than a basis point at 4.040 percent. <\/p>\n<\/p>\n<\/div>\n