Major Averages Bounce Well Off Early Lows To Close Roughly Flat

(RTTNews) - After falling sharply in early trading, stocks showed a substantial turnaround over the course of the trading session on Wednesday. The major averages climbed well off their worst levels of the day before closing near the unchanged line.

Gold stocks moved sharply higher over the course of the trading day, driving the NYSE Arca Gold Bugs Index up by 7.3 percent. With the gain, the index reached its best closing level in almost a month.

The rally by gold stocks came amid an increase by the price of the precious metal, with gold for December delivery climbing $15.90 to $1,123.60 an ounce.

Considerable strength also emerged among energy stocks, which moved higher as crude oil for September delivery rose $0.22 to $43.30 a barrel.

Reflecting the strength in the energy sector, the NYSE Arca Natural Gas Index surged up by 2.1 percent, while the Philadelphia Oil Service Index and the NYSE Arca Oil & Gas Index both jumped by 1.6 percent.

Utilities stocks also showed a strong move to the upside on the day, resulting in a 1.5 percent gain by the Dow Jones Utilities Average. With the gain, the average reached its best closing level in well over five months.

On the other hand, significant weakness remained visible among banking stocks, as reflected by the 1.5 loss posted by the Dow Jones Banks Index. The drop pulled the index down to a one-month closing low.

Airline and brokerage stocks also saw some weakness at the close but ended the session well off their worst levels of the day.

The Dow ended the session down just 0.33 points at 17,402.51 after falling nearly 280 points in early trading. The Nasdaq rose 7.60 points or 0.2 percent to 5,044.39, and the S&P 500 edged up 1.98 points or 0.1 percent to 2,086.05.