The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 (Index: ^AXJO) (ASX: XJO) index is up 10 points at 5,131, after having hit a high of 5,157 points in early trading, with high-yielding dividend stocks largely leading the way. Westpac (ASX: WBC), ANZ (ASX: ANZ), NAB (ASX: NAB) and Commonwealth Bank (ASX: CBA) are all up between 0.4% and 0.7% due to lower bond yields and poor new home sales data in the US.
Although poor home sales data is not a good sign for the economy and its continued recovery, the stock market has reacted well as the figures act as a dampener on expectations that the US Federal Reserve will begin reducing its stimulus program as early as next month.
The big winner for the day, however, is Newcrest Mining (ASX: NCM), which is up 6.9% following the 1.6% rise in spot gold overnight. After being largely sold off by investors earlier in the year, the stock has now recovered 54% of its value since late June.
After the market's "strong bounce" over the last few days however, RBS Morgans investment advisor Christopher Macdonald believes that "the market may soon need to cool its jets" – particularly with the level of instability and uncertainty currently in the Middle East.
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Motley Fool contributor Ryan Newman does not own shares in any of the companies mentioned in this article.
