Major Averages End Lackluster Session Moderately Higher

(RTTNews) - After turning in a lackluster performance throughout much of the session, stocks managed to end Monday's trading mostly higher.

Gold stocks showed a substantial move to the upside on the day, driving the NYSE Arca Gold Bugs Index up by 2.9 percent. Newmont Mining (NEM) and Yamana Gold (AUY) turned in two of the sector's best performances.

The strength among gold stocks came amid a modest increase by the price of the precious metal, with gold for December delivery inching up $1.50 to $1,314.70 an ounce.

Considerable strength was also visible among steel stocks, as reflected by the 2.3 percent gain posted by the NYSE Arca Steel Index. Buying interest was generated by news that Goldman Sachs upgraded its rating on the steel sector to Neutral from Cautious.

Trucking stocks also moved sharply higher over the course of the session, resulting in a 2.1 percent gain by the Dow Jones Trucking Index.

Airline, housing, and oil stocks also saw notable strength on the day, while significant weakness was visible among electronic storage stocks.

The major averages moved to the upside going into the close, ending the day moderately higher. The Dow edged up 23.57 points or 0.2 percent to 15,639.12, the Nasdaq rose 14.55 points or 0.4 percent to 3,936.59 and the S&P 500 climbed 6.29 points or 0.4 percent to 1,767.93.