Major Averages Close Firmly In Positive Territory

(RTTNews) - Stocks fluctuated over the course of the trading session on Wednesday but largely managed to maintain a positive bias on the day. With the upward move, the Dow ended the session at its best closing level in well over a month.

Steel stocks saw substantial strength, driving the NYSE Arca Steel Index up by 4.1 percent. With the gain, the index reached its best closing level in three weeks.

Rio Tinto (RIO), Mechel (MT), and AK Steel (AKS) turned in some of the steel sector's best performances on the day.

Considerable strength was also visible among biotechnology stocks, as reflected by the 2.4 percent gain posted by the NYSE Arca Biotechnology Index. Nektar Therapeutics (NKTR) and Intercept Pharmaceuticals (ICPT) posted standout gains.

Railroad, airline, housing, and brokerage stocks also saw significant strength on the day, moving higher along with most of the other major sectors.

The major averages finished the session firmly in positive territory. The Dow climbed 122.10 points or 0.7 percent to 16,912.29, the Nasdaq advanced 42.79 points or 0.9 percent to 4,791.15 and the S&P 500 rose 15.91 points or 0.8 percent to 1,995.83.