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Sector News Stocks have moved mostly higher in morning trading on Wednesday, with the markets extending a recent upward move on the heels of upbeat employment data. Buying interest has remained relatively subdued, however, with lingering geopolitical concerns limiting the upside. The major averages are currently posting moderate gains, off their highs for the session. The Dow is up 54.95 points or 0.5 percent at 12,333.96, the Nasdaq is up 10.13 points or 0.4 percent at 2,767.02 and the S&P 500 is up 5.71 points or 0.4 percent at 1,325.15. The strength in the markets is partly due to the release of a report from payroll processorAutomatic Data Processing (ADP) showing another significant increase in private sector employment in March. The report showed that private sector employment rose by 201,000 jobs in March following a downwardly revised increase of 208,000 jobs in February. Economists had expected an increase of about 208,000 jobs compared to the addition of 217,000 jobs originally reported for the previous month. Peter Boockvar, equity strategist at Miller Tabak, said, "While slightly below estimates, the pace ofjob gains is good and certainly encouraging to see." "But we still have years to go to get back what was lost in the recession if this current pace persists," Boockvar added. The Labor Department's more closely watched monthly employment report, which includes both private and public sector jobs, is due to be released on Friday. While payroll employment is expected to show continued growth, the unemployment rate is expected to remain unchanged at 8.9 percent. Additional news on the merger-and-acquisition front has also generated some positive sentiment, with shares of Cephalon (CEPH) up by 28.1 percent on news that Valeant Pharmaceuticals (VRX) has made a hostile takeover offer for the biopharmaceutical company. Valeant has offered to acquire Cephalon for $73 per share in cash, representing a total value of approximately $5.7 billion. The offer represents a 24 percent premium to Cephalon's closing price on Tuesday and a 29 percent premium over its 30-day trading average. Meanwhile, shares of Sealy (ZZ) have come under pressure after the mattress maker reported a first quarter net loss compared to a year-ago profit. The company also reported a decrease in net sales. With Cephalon helping to lead the way higher, considerable strength has emerged among biotechnology stocks. The NYSE Arca Biotechnology Index has surged up by 2.3 percent in morning trading, reaching a record intraday high. Along with Cephalon, Amylin Pharmaceuticals (AMLN) and Nektar Therapeutics (NKTR) are also posting notable gains, advancing by 2.6 percent and 2.3 percent, respectively. Gold stocks have also shown a significant move to the upside, moving higher along with the price of the precious metal. With gold for June delivery rising $9.70 to $1,427.20 an ounce, the NYSE Arca Gold Bugs Index is up by 1.6 percent. While notable strength is also visible among utilities, airline, and natural gas stocks, oil service stocks have come under pressure amid a decrease by the price of crude oil.