WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - After showing a lack of direction early in the
session, stocks have moved mostly higher over the course of the trading day on
Monday. The major averages have all moved to the upside, with the Nasdaq and the
S&P 500 reaching new record intraday highs.

In recent trading, the major averages have reached new highs for the session.
The Nasdaq is up 151.02 points or 0.9 percent at 17,839.90, the S&P 500 is up
37.75 points or 0.7 percent at 5,469.35 and the Dow is up 119.99 points or 0.3
percent at 38,709.15.

Traders initially seemed reluctant to make significant moves as they took a
moment to assess the recent activity in the markets and the near-term outlook.

Buying interest has emerged over the course of the session, however, with stocks
potentially benefiting from the positive sentiment generated last week.

Tamer-than-expected inflation data led to strong gains by the Nasdaq and the S&P
500 last week, although the narrower Dow bucked the uptrend.

While Federal Reserve officials forecast just one interest rate cut this year
following last Wednesday's monetary policy meeting, traders remain hopeful the
predictions will turn out to be overly conservative if inflation continues to
slow in the coming months.

Meanwhile, traders continue to look ahead to the release of some key economic
data this, with reports on retail sales and industrial production are likely to
be in the spotlight.

On the U.S. economic front, the Federal Reserve Bank of New York released a
report this morning showing New York manufacturing activity contracted at a
notably slower rate in the month of June.

The New York Fed said its general business conditions index climbed to a
negative 6.0 in June from a negative 15.6 in May, although a negative reading
still indicates contraction. Economists had expected the index to rise to a
negative 9.0.

Despite the continued contraction in current activity, the New York Fed said
optimism about the six-month outlook picked up to its highest level in more than
two years.

Sector News

Oil service stocks have moved sharply higher over the course of the session,
driving the Philadelphia Oil Service Index up by 2.1 percent. The index is
bouncing off its lowest closing level in four months.

The rebound by oil service stocks comes amid a notable rebound by the price of
crude oil, with crude for July delivery jumping $1.30 to $79.75 a barrel.

Considerable strength has also emerged among computer hardware stocks, as
reflected by the 2.1 percent surge by the NYSE Arca Computer Hardware Index.

Semiconductor and software stocks have also moved to the upside, contributing to
advance by the tech-heavy Nasdaq, while some weakness remains visible among
telecom and gold stocks.

Other Markets

In overseas trading, stock markets across the Asia-Pacific region moved mostly
lower during trading on Monday. Japan's Nikkei 225 Index tumbled by 1.8 percent,
while China's Shanghai Composite Index slid by 0.6 percent.

Meanwhile, the major European markets turned in a mixed performance on the day.
While the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index edged down by 0.1 percent, the German DAX Index
rose by 0.4 percent and the French CAC 40 Index advanced by 0.9 percent.

In the bond market, treasuries are giving back ground after trending higher over
the past several sessions. As a result, the yield on the benchmark ten-year
note, which moves opposite of its price, is up by 6.4 basis points at 4.277
percent.



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