Major Averages Close Mixed Following Choppy Trading Day

(RTTNews) - Stocks showed a lack of direction throughout the trading day on Monday, as traders seemed reluctant to make any significant moves. The choppy trading came on the heels of the mixed performance shown by the markets last week.

Most of the major sectors ended the day showing only modest moves, contributing to the lack of direction shown by the broader markets.

Gold stocks moved notably higher over the course of the session, however, with the NYSE Arca Gold Bugs Index advancing by 1.6 percent. With the gain, the index reached its best closing level in well over three months.

The strength among gold stocks came amid a modest increase by the price of gold, as gold for April delivery climbed $2 to $1,322 an ounce.

Significant strength was also visible among semiconductor stocks, as reflected by the 1.1 percent gain posted by the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index. Micron Technology (MU) helped lead the sector higher, surging up by 4.6 percent.

Utilities, natural gas, and oil service stocks also saw some strength on the day, while airline and defense stocks saw moderate weakness.

The major averages eventually ended the day on opposite sides of the unchanged line. While the Nasdaq rose 10.25 points or 0.2 percent to 4,408.18, the Dow dipped 25.24 points or 0.2 percent to 16,826.60 and the S&P 500 edged down 0.73 points or less than a tenth of a percent to 1,960.23.