The strength in the markets is partly due to some upbeat economic data, including a report from the Labor Department showing that first-time claims for unemployment benefits fell to a ten-month low last week.
Significant strength has emerged in a variety of sectors, with technology stocks posting notable gains after networking giant Cisco Systems (CSCO | Quote | Chart | News | PowerRating) reported better than expected first quarter results. Electronic storage, internet, and semiconductor stocks are posting substantial gains.
Most of the other major sectors have also moved to the upside, as the upbeat data has generated broad based buying interest. Telecom, biotechnology, defense, and trucking stocks have shown strong upward moves.
The major averages have pulled back off their best levels of the day, although they continue to post strong gains. The Dow is currently up 174.35 at 9,976.49, the Nasdaq is up 43.42 at 2,098.94 and the S&P 500 is up 15.96 at 1,062.46.
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