(RTTNews) - Stocks have moved mostly higher over the course of the trading day on Wednesday after turning in a mixed performance earlier in the session. The major averages have all moved to the upside, with the Nasdaq climbing just above the unchanged line.
The strength that has emerged on Wall Street comes on the heels of the notable weakness seen over the three previous sessions, with some traders picking up stocks at reduced levels.
Nonetheless, disappointing earnings news from Apple (AAPL) continues to limit the upside for the markets, with the iPad and iPhone maker down by 3.7 percent.
Gold stocks are posting particularly strong gains in mid-afternoon trading, with the NYSE Arca Gold Bugs Index up by 4.4 percent. The strength in the sector comes as the price of gold for August delivery jumped $31.90 to $1,608.10 an ounce.
Significant strength also remains visible among semiconductor stocks, as reflected by the 2.8 percent gain being posted by the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index. Networking, biotechnology, and brokerage stocks have also shown strong moves to the upside.
Meanwhile, health insurance and housing stocks continue to see considerable weakness, partly offsetting the strength that has emerged in the other sectors.
The major averages are currently all in positive territory, although the Dow is outperforming its counterparts. The Dow is up 97.78 points or 0.8 percent at 12,715.10, while the Nasdaq is up 3.69 points or 0.1 percent at 2,866.68 and the S&P 500 is up 3.95 points or 0.3 percent at 1,342.26.
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