Major Averages Close In Positive Territory

(RTTNews) - While trading activity was somewhat subdued, stocks moved mostly higher over the course of the trading day on Monday. The gains on the day extended the upward move seen late last Friday, further offsetting the sharp pullback seen in the middle of last week.

Networking stocks saw substantial strength on the day, driving the NYSE Arca Networking Index up by 2.1 percent. With the gain, the index reached its best closing level in almost a month.

Infinera (INFN) helped to lead the networking sector higher, with the provider of optical transport networking equipment, software, and services jumping by 12.5 percent.

Significant strength was also visible among biotechnology stocks, as reflected by the 2 percent gain posted by the NYSE Arca Biotechnology Index. InterMune (ITMN) posted a standout gain following some positive analyst comments.

Internet, computer hardware, and semiconductor stocks also saw notable strength, contributing to a strong upward move by the Nasdaq.

Outside of the tech sector, airline stocks posted particularly strong gains, resulting in a 2.2 percent jump by the NYSE Arca Airline Index. The index regained some ground after closing lower for four consecutive sessions.

Brokerage, trucking, and banking stocks also saw some strength on the day, while weakness was visible among utilities stocks.

The major averages all closed higher, although the tech-heavy Nasdaq outperformed its counterparts. The Nasdaq jumped 35.23 points or 0.9 percent to 4,125.81, while the Dow edged up 20.55 points or 0.1 percent to 16,511.86 and the S&P 500 rose 7.22 points or 0.4 percent to 1,885.08.