Major Averages End Choppy Trading Day Mixed

(RTTNews) - Stocks showed a lack of direction throughout the trading day on Monday after recovering from an early move to the downside. The lackluster performance came after the markets showed notable moves to the downside last week.

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

Gold stocks saw substantial strength, however, with the NYSE Arca Gold Bugs Index surging up by 5.5 percent on the day.

The strength among gold stocks came amid a sharp increase by the price of the precious metal, with gold for December delivery jumping $22 to $1,334.20 an ounce.

Computer hardware, trucking, and software stocks also saw some strength, although buying interest has remained subdued.

On the other hand, considerable weakness was visible among biotechnology stocks, as reflected by the 1.1 percent loss posted by the NYSE Arca Biotechnology Index. The drop pulled the index down to its lowest closing level in a month.

Commercial real estate, utilities, and oil stocks also moved to the downside, offsetting the strength seen in the aforementioned sectors.

The major averages bounced back and forth across the unchanged line before ending the day mixed. While the Nasdaq rose 9.84 points or 0.3 percent to 3,669.95, the Dow edged down 5.83 points or less than a tenth of a percent to 15,419.68 and the S&P 500 dipped 1.95 points or 0.1 percent to 1,689.47.