Major Averages Close In Positive Territory, Nasdaq Outperforms

(RTTNews) - Stocks moved mostly higher over the course of the trading day on Tuesday, although buying interest was somewhat subdued. The strength on the day helped the markets to partly recover from the notable weakness seen over the past few sessions.

Gold stocks showed a strong move to the upside over the course of the trading day, driving the NYSE Arca Gold Bugs Index up by 2.4 percent. Despite the gain, the index remains well off its recent highs.

The strength among gold stocks came amid an increase by the price of the precious metal, with gold for June delivery climbing $10.80 to $1,309.10 an ounce.

Considerable strength also emerged among utilities stocks, as reflected by the 1.7 percent gain posted by the Dow Jones Utilities Average. With the gain, the average set a six-year closing high.

Electronic storage, natural gas, oil service, and semiconductor stocks also saw significant strength, moving higher along with most of the other major sectors.

While the major averages all closed in positive territory, the Nasdaq outperformed its counterparts. The Nasdaq advanced 33.23 points or 0.8 percent to 4,112.99, while the Dow edged up 10.27 points or 0.1 percent to 16,256.14 and the S&P 500 rose 6.92 points or 0.4 percent to 1,851.96.