Major Averages Close Nearly Flat After Choppy Trading Day

(RTTNews) - Stocks showed a lack of direction throughout the trading session on Monday, as traders seemed reluctant to make any significant moves. The choppy trading came on the heels of the strong performance that was seen last week.

Most of the major sectors ended the day showing only modest moves, contributing to the lackluster close by the broader markets.

Gold stocks turned in a strong performance, however, with the NYSE Arca Gold Bugs Index advancing by 1.6 percent. With the gain, the index reached its best closing level in three months.

The strength in the gold sector came amid a modest increase by the price of the precious metal, as gold for August delivery rose $1.80 to $1,318.40 an ounce.

Steel and internet stocks also moved to the upside on the day, although buying interest remained relatively subdued.

Meanwhile, substantial weakness was visible among tobacco stocks, as reflected by the 1.9 percent loss posted by the NYSE Arca Tobacco Index. Alliance One (AOI) helped lead the sector lower, falling by 3.9 percent.

Airline, trucking, and biotech stocks also saw some weakness, offsetting the strength seen in the aforementioned sectors.

The major averages ended the day mixed, although they were all nearly flat. While the Nasdaq inched up 0.64 points or less than 0.1 percent to 4,368.68, the Dow slipped 9.82 points or 0.1 percent to 16,937.26 and the S&P 500 edged down 0.26 points or less than 0.1 percent to 1,962.61.