Major Averages Close Modestly Higher, S&P 500 Sets New Record Closing High

(RTTNews) - After recovering from an early move to the downside, stocks showed a lack of direction throughout much of the trading day on Tuesday before closing modestly higher. The slim gains on the day lifted the S&P 500 to another new record closing high.

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

Oil service stocks showed a substantial move to the upside, however, with the Philadelphia Oil Service Index surging up by 2.1 percent. With the gain, the index reached its best closing level in well over a month.

The strength among oil service stocks came amid an increase by the price of crude oil, with crude for March delivery climbing $0.75 to $53.53 a barrel.

Meanwhile, gold stocks saw considerable weakness throughout the session, dragging the NYSE Arca Gold Bugs Index down by 3.3 percent. The losses by gold stocks came as the price of gold for April delivery tumbled $18.50 to $1,208.60 an ounce.

Notable weakness also emerged among airline stocks, as reflected by the 1.3 percent loss posted by the NYSE Arca Airline Index.

The major averages all ended the day slightly above the unchanged line. The Dow edged up 28.26 points or 0.2 percent to 18,047.58, the Nasdaq inched up 5.43 points or 0.1 percent to 4,899.27 and the S&P 500 ticked up 3.35 points or 0.2 percent to 2,100.34.