Major Averages Close Roughly Flat, Nasdaq Still Sets Nearly 15-Year High

(RTTNews) - After turning higher over the course of the previous session, stocks once again recovered from an early move to the downside during trading on Wednesday. The major averages were unable to sustain the upward move, however, ending the day roughly flat.

Stocks saw some volatility in afternoon trading following the release of the minutes of the Federal Reserve's January monetary policy meeting.

Traders seemed to focus on the statement that many participants said the balance of risks associated with policy normalization had inclined them toward keeping interest rates at lower levels for a longer time.

Despite the lackluster close by the broader markets, significant strength was visible among utilities stocks. The Dow Jones Utilities Averages surged up by 2.2 percent, bouncing well off the two-month closing low set in the previous session.

The strong rebound by interest rate-sensitive utilities stocks largely reflected a dovish interpretation of the Fed minutes.

Gold stocks also spiked higher in reaction to the Fed minutes, driving the NYSE Arca Gold Bugs Index up by 2 percent. The index showed a substantial recovery after hitting its lowest intraday level in a month earlier in the session.

Airline and biotechnology stocks also moved notably higher over the course of the session, while weakness remained visible among banking and telecom stocks.

While the tech-heavy Nasdaq inched up 7.10 points or 0.1 percent to 4,906.36, reaching its best closing level since early 2000, the Dow slipped 17.73 points or 0.1 percent to 18,029.85 and the S&P 500 edged down 0.66 points or less than a tenth of a percent to 2,099.68.