Major Averages Finish Volatile Session Moderately Higher

(RTTNews) - Stocks fluctuated over the course of the trading day on Tuesday, as traders digested relatively upbeat retail sales data as well as comments regarding the outlook for the Federal Reserve's stimulus program from Atlanta Fed President Dennis Lockhart.

Brokerage stocks showed a strong move to the upside over the course of the trading day, driving the NYSE Arca Broker/Dealer Index up by 1.2 percent. The index is climbing back toward the four-year highs it set earlier this month.

TD Ameritrade (AMTD) helped to lead the brokerage sector higher, surging up by 3.9 percent, while Charles Schwab (SCHW) also posted a strong gain.

Significant strength also emerged among semiconductor and networking stocks, with the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index and the NYSE Arca Networking Index advancing by 1.2 percent and 1.1 percent, respectively. The networking index reached a two-year closing high.

Meanwhile, substantial weakness remained visible among airline stocks, as reflected by the 3.9 percent loss posted by the NYSE Arca Airline Index. The drop pulled the index down to its lowest closing level in a month.

US Airways (LCC) helped to lead the airline sector lower, tumbling by 13.1 percent on news that the Justice Department has filed a lawsuit challenging the airline's proposed merger with American Airlines parent AMR Corp.

Gold stocks also came under considerable selling pressure, moving lower along with the price of the precious metal. Electronic storage, housing, and commercial real estate stocks also posted notable losses.

The major averages showed big swings back and forth across the unchanged line before ending the day moderately higher. The Dow edged up 31.33 points or 0.2 percent to 15,451.01, the Nasdaq rose 14.49 points or 0.4 percent to 3,684.44 and the S&P 500 climbed 4.69 points or 0.3 percent to 1,694.16.