Dow And S&P 500 Reach New Record Closing Highs

(RTTNews) - While buying interest was somewhat subdued, stocks moved modestly higher over the course of the trading day on Monday. The gains lifted the Dow and the S&P 500 to new record closing highs, while the Nasdaq reached its best closing level since 2000.

Many of the major sectors ended the day showing only modest moves, although significant strength was visible among transportation stocks. The Dow Jones Transportation Average climbed 1.3 percent to a new record closing high.

Railroad stocks turned in some of the best performances within the railroad sector, driving the Dow Jones Railroads Index up by 2.2 percent. Guangshen Railway (GSH) and FreightCar America (RAIL) posted standout gains.

Airline and trucking stocks also saw considerable strength as a notable decline by the price of oil generated optimism about lower fuel costs. Crude for December tumbled $1.25 to $77.40 a barrel.

Outside of the transportation sector, strength was also visible among biotechnology, brokerage, and healthcare stocks.

Meanwhile, gold stocks saw substantial weakness on the day, dragging the NYSE Arca Gold Bugs Index down by 6.1 percent. The weakness in the sector came as gold for December delivery fell $10 to $1,159.80 an ounce.

Steel, networking, and energy stocks also moved to the downside, partly offsetting the strength in the aforementioned sectors.

The major averages moved roughly sideways going into the close, hovering in positive territory. The Dow edged up 39.81 points or 0.2 percent to 17,613.74, the Nasdaq climbed 19.08 points or 0.4 percent to 4,651.62 and the S&P 500 rose 6.34 points or 0.3 percent to 2,038.26.