Major Averages Close Mixed Following Choppy Trading Day

(RTTNews) - Following the slight uptick that was seen last week, stocks showed a lack of direction throughout the trading session on Monday. The choppy trading extended the roughly sideways trend shown by the markets over the past two weeks.

Despite the lack of direction shown by the broader markets, substantial weakness was visible among gold stocks. The NYSE Arca Gold Bugs Index plunged by 2.9 percent, hitting its lowest closing level in well over two months.

The weakness among gold stocks came amid a notable decrease by the price of the precious metal, with gold for December delivery sliding $13 to $1,254.30 an ounce.

Energy stocks also saw significant weakness on the day amid a decrease by the price of crude oil. Crude for October delivery fell $0.63 to an eight-month closing low of $92.66 a barrel.

On the other hand, brokerage stocks moved notably higher over the course of the session, driving the NYSE Arca Broker/Dealer Index up by 1.3 percent. GFI Group (GFIG) helped lead the sector higher, jumping by 10.6 percent.

Biotechnology, networking, and internet stocks also saw some strength on the day, contributing to a modest gain by the tech-heavy Nasdaq.

The major averages eventually ended the session on opposite sides of the unchanged line. While the Nasdaq inched up 9.39 points or 0.2 percent to 4,592.29, the Dow edged down 25.94 points or 0.2 percent to 17,111.42 and the S&P 500 slipped 6.17 points or 0.3 percent to 2,001.54.