Major Averages Close In Positive Territory But Off Best Levels

(RTTNews) - While trading activity was somewhat subdued, stocks moved mostly higher over the course of the trading day on Friday. The upward move on the day came on the heels of the lackluster performance that was seen in the previous session.

Telecom stocks showed a strong move to the upside on the day, driving the NYSE Arca North American Telecom Index up by 1.4 percent. With the gain, the index ended the session at its best closing level in well over a month.

Sprint (S) helped to lead the telecom sector higher, with the wireless service provider surging up by 7.7 percent to a one-month closing high.

Considerable strength also emerged among brokerage stocks, as reflected by the 1.2 percent gain posted by the NYSE Arca Broker/Dealer Index. The gain by the index came after it ended the previous session at its worst closing level in over four months.

Tobacco, steel, and software stocks also saw some strength on the day, while weakness among oil service and gold stocks limited the upside for the broader markets.

The major averages pulled back off their best levels going into the close but remained in positive territory. The Dow climbed 69.15 points or 0.4 percent to 17,477.40, the Nasdaq edged up 14.68 points or 0.3 percent to 5,048.24 and the S&P 500 rose by 8.15 points or 0.4 percent to 2,091.54.