Nasdaq Reaches Best Closing Level In Fifteen Years

(RTTNews) - After showing a lack of direction throughout morning trading on Wednesday, stocks moved mostly higher over the course of the session. With the upward move on the day, the tech-heavy Nasdaq reached its best closing level since 2000.

Despite the notably higher close by the broader markets, many of the major sectors ended the day showing only modest moves.

Steel stocks saw significant strength, however, with the NYSE Arca Steel Index surging up by 2.5 percent. Gerdau (GBB) and Rio Tinto (RTP) posted standout gains.

Considerable strength also emerged among railroad stocks, as reflected by the 1.6 percent gain posted by the Dow Jones Railroads Index. With the gain, the index reached its best closing level in a month.

Brokerage and semiconductor stocks also moved notably higher on the day, while substantial weakness remained visible among gold stocks.

The weakness among gold stocks came amid a sharp drop by the price of the precious metal, with gold for June delivery falling $16.20 to $1,186.90 an ounce.

The major averages ended the day firmly in positive territory but off their highs for the session. The Dow climbed 88.68 points or 0.5 percent to 18,038.27, the Nasdaq rose 21.07 points or 0.4 percent to 5,035.17 and the S&P 500 advanced 10.67 points or 0.5 percent to 2,107.96.