Major Averages Close Mixed Following Volatile Trading Session

(RTTNews) - After ending the previous session sharply lower, stocks saw considerable volatility over the course of the trading day on Thursday. The markets managed to recover from a sell-off in morning trading, but the major averages ended the day mixed.

Many of the major sectors ended the day showing only modest moves, contributing to the lackluster close by the broader markets.

Trucking stocks showed a strong move to the upside, however, with the Dow Jones Trucking Index jumping by 1.4 percent. The gain by the index came after it ended the previous session at its worst closing level in almost two months.

Knight Transportation (KNX) helped to lead the trucking sector higher, surging up by 3 percent to a new record closing high.

Significant strength was also visible among airline stocks, as reflected by the 1.1 percent gain posted by the NYSE Arca Airline Index. The index bounced well off yesterday's five-month closing low.

Gold, brokerage, and retail stocks also saw strength on the day, while energy and defense stocks moved to the downside.

While the Dow climbed well off its worst levels, the blue chip index still edged down 3.66 points or less than a tenth of a percent to 16,801.05.

The tech-heavy Nasdaq climbed 8.11 points or 0.2 percent to 4,430.19, while the S&P 500 closed nearly flat, up just 0.01 points at 1,946.17.