U.S. Stocks Move Mostly Higher, Nasdaq Posting Strong Gain

Following the Thanksgiving Day holiday on Thursday, stocks have moved mostly higher in morning trading on Friday. The major averages have all moved to the upside, with the tech-heavy Nasdaq showing a particularly strong advance.

The Nasdaq reached a new high for the session in recent trading and is currently up 128.30 points or 1.1 percent at 12,222.70. The Dow has pulled back off its best levels but remains up 67.72 points or 0.2 percent at 29,940.19 and the S&P 500 is up 12.35 points or 0.3 percent at 3,642.00.

The markets continue to benefit from recent upward momentum, which has propelled the major averages to new record highs.

Optimism about a potential coronavirus vaccine has contributed to recent strength on Wall Street, although some questions have been raised about the efficacy of the vaccine being developed by Oxford University and AstraZeneca.

AstraZeneca Pascal Soriot told Bloomberg the British pharmaceutical giant is likely to run a new global trial of the vaccine candidate.

Nonetheless, overall trading activity is subdued in the shortened trading session, as many traders remain away from their desks following the holiday.

A lack of major U.S. economic data may also be keeping traders on the sidelines ahead of the monthly jobs report due next week along with reports on manufacturing and service sector activity.

Semiconductor stocks have shown a strong move to the upside on the day, driving the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index up by 1.5 percent to a new record intraday high.

Software, airline, and biotechnology stocks have shown notable moves to the upside, while energy stocks have come under pressure.

Reflecting the weakness in the energy sector, the Philadelphia Oil Service Index is down by 1.9 percent and the NYSE Arca Oil Index is down by 1.2 percent.

Energy stocks are moving lower along with the price of crude oil, as crude for January delivery is falling $0.49 to $45.22 a barrel.

In overseas trading, stock markets across the Asia-Pacific region moved mostly higher during trading on Thursday. Japan's Nikkei 225 Index rose by 0.4 percent, while China's Shanghai Composite Index jumped by 1.1 percent.

The major European markets have also moved to the upside on the day. While the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index has edged up by 0.2 percent, the German DAX Index is up by 0.6 percent and the French CAC 40 Index is up by 0.8 percent.

In the bond market, treasuries have moved higher after ending the previous session nearly unchanged. As a result, the yield on the benchmark ten-year note, which moves opposite of its price, is down by 2.6 basis points at 0.852 percent.