Major Averages Close Mixed Following Volatile Trading Session

(RTTNews) - Following the sharp pullback seen last Friday, stocks saw considerable volatility over the course of the trading day on Monday. Upbeat corporate and economic news generated some buying interest, but lingering worries about Ukraine also weighed on the markets.

Despite the volatility shown by the broader markets, pharmaceutical stocks managed to perform well throughout much of the session. The NYSE Arca Pharmaceutical Index rose by 1.7 percent to a new record closing high.

AstraZeneca (AZN) helped lead the sector higher on news that drug giant Pfizer (PFE) is seeking to renew discussions about a potential takeover of its British rival.

Pfizer noted that it previously offered to acquire AstraZeneca in a deal valued at approximately 58.8 billion pounds, or $98.7 billion.

Tobacco stocks also saw significant strength on the day, resulting in a 1.1 percent gain by the NYSE Arca Tobacco Index. Altria (MO) and Lorillard (LO) turned in two of the sector's best performances.

Meanwhile, gold stocks moved sharply lower on the day, dragging the NYSE Arca Gold Bugs Index down by 2.2 percent. The weakness in the sector came as gold for June delivery dipped $1.80 to $1,299 an ounce.

Banking, airline, and networking stocks also came under pressure on the day, partly offsetting the strength seen in the aforementioned sectors.

While the Dow and the S&P 500 managed to close in positive territory, the Nasdaq ended the day slightly lower. The Nasdaq edged down 1.16 points or less than a tenth of a percent to 4,074.40, while the Dow rose 87.28 points or 0.5 percent to 16,448.74 and the S&P 500 climbed 6.03 points or 0.3 percent to 1,869.43.