Major Averages Close Firmly Positive On Afternoon Strength

(RTTNews) - After showing a lack of direction for much of morning trading on Monday, stocks showed a notable move to the upside over the course of the afternoon. The strength that emerged helped the markets to regain some ground following last week's sell-off.

Energy stocks turned in a particularly strong performance on the day after showing a notable move to the downside over the past few sessions. The NYSE Arca Oil & Gas Index surged up by 1.8 percent, bouncing off a nearly two-month closing low.

The rebound by energy stocks came amid an increase by the price of crude oil, with crude for September delivery climbing $0.41 to $98.29 a barrel.

Significant strength was also visible among internet stocks, as reflected by the 1.6 percent gain posted by the Dow Jones Internet Index. Priceline (PCLN) helped lead the sector higher, jumping 4.3 percent to its best closing level in over four months.

Computer hardware, software, steel and chemical stocks also saw considerable strength on the day, while gold stocks bucked the uptrend amid a drop by the price of the precious metal.

The major averages pulled back off their highs going into the close but remained firmly positive. The Dow rose 75.91 points or 0.5 percent to 16,569.28, the Nasdaq advanced 31.25 points or 0.7 percent to 4,383.89 and the S&P 500 climbed 13.84 points or 0.7 percent to 1,938.99.