Major Averages Close Mixed After Quiet Trading Session

(RTTNews) - Following the rally seen in the previous session, stocks moved mostly lower during trading on Tuesday. The Nasdaq and the S&P 500 ended the day in negative territory, although the Dow managed to close modestly higher.

Biotechnology stocks showed a substantial move to the downside on the day, contributing to the drop by the Nasdaq. Reflecting the weakness in the biotech sector, the NYSE Arca Biotechnology Index plummeted by 4.8 percent.

Exact Sciences (EXAS) helped to lead the biotech sector lower, plunging by 46.1 percent on news a panel of experts did not include the company's Cologuard on a list of recommended colon cancer screening tests.

Considerable weakness was also visible among airline stocks, as reflected by the 2.8 percent loss posted by the NYSE Arca Airline Index. Alaska Air Group (ALK) and China Southern Airlines (ZNH) turned in two of the sector's worst performances.

Housing, pharmaceutical, and retail stocks also saw significant weakness on the day, while strength was visible among energy, gold and computer hardware stocks.

While the Dow inched up 13.76 points or 0.1 percent to 16,790.19, the Nasdaq slid 32.90 points or 0.7 percent to 4,748.36 and the S&P 500 fell 7.13 points or 0.4 percent to 1,979.92.