Major Averages End Lackluster Session Modestly Lower

(RTTNews) - Stocks saw modest weakness throughout much of the trading day on Tuesday, partly offsetting the strength seen in the two previous sessions. Selling pressure was relatively subdued, however, limiting the downside for the markets.

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

Software stocks saw considerable weakness, however, with the Dow Jones Software Index falling by 1.2 percent. The pullback by the index came after it ended the previous session at its best levels since 2000.

Industry giants Oracle (ORCL) and Microsoft (MSFT) turned in two of the software sector's worst performances, sliding by 2.3 percent and 1.6 percent, respectively.

Utilities, networking, and electronic storage stocks also moved to the downside on the day, although selling pressure was somewhat subdued.

Meanwhile, gold stocks moved sharply higher on the day, benefiting from a substantial increase by the price of the precious metal.

The major averages pulled back going into the close, ending the day moderately lower. The Dow dipped 52.40 points or 0.3 percent to 15,973.13, the Nasdaq edged down 8.26 points or 0.2 percent to 4,060.49 and the S&P 500 slipped 5.75 points or 0.3 percent to 1,802.62.