Dow Reaches New Record Closing High Despite Choppy Trading

(RTTNews) - Stocks showed a lack of direction throughout much of the trading day on Tuesday before ending the session roughly flat. Despite the lackluster performance on the day, the Dow still reached another new record closing high.

While many of the major sectors ended the day showing only modest moves, substantial weakness was visible among gold stocks. Reflecting the weakness in the gold sector, the NYSE Arca Gold Bugs Index tumbled by 4.1 percent.

The steep losses by gold stocks came amid a sharp drop by the price of the precious metal, with gold for June delivery plunging $20.90 to $1,206.70 an ounce.

Oil service stocks also saw considerable weakness on the day, moving lower along with the price of crude oil. With crude for June delivery plummeting $2.13 to $57.30 a barrel, the Philadelphia Oil Service Index slumped by 2.9 percent.

Steel, natural gas, and telecom stocks also moved to the downside, although selling pressure remained relatively subdued.

On the other hand, banking stocks moved notably higher on the day, driving the Dow Jones Banks Index up by 1.2 percent. With the gain, the index reached its best closing level in well over six years.

The major averages ended the day on opposite sides of the unchanged line. While the Dow crept up 13.51 points or 0.1 percent to 18,312.39, the Nasdaq dipped 8.41 points or 0.2 percent to 5,070.03 and the S&P 500 edged down 1.37 points or 0.1 percent to 2,127.83.