Major Averages Finish Choppy Trading Day In Positive Territory

(RTTNews) - Following the three-day holiday weekend, stocks fluctuated over the course of the trading session on Tuesday. The major averages bounced back and forth across the unchanged line before ending the day in positive territory.

While many of the major sectors ended the day showing only modest moves, significant strength was visible among gold stocks. Reflecting the strength in the sector, the NYSE Arca Gold Bugs Index surged up by 3.4 percent to a four-month closing high.

The strength among gold stocks came amid a notable increase by the price of the precious metal, with gold February delivery climbing $17.30 to $1,294.20 an ounce.

Airline stocks also moved sharply higher on the day, driving the NYSE Arca Airline Index up by 3.1 percent. Delta (DAL) helped to lead the sector higher after reporting better than expected fourth quarter earnings.

Biotechnology, telecom, and computer hardware stocks also turned in strong performances, while weakness was visible among housing and natural gas stocks.

The major averages all closed higher, although the Dow inched up only 3.66 points or less than a tenth of a percent to 17,515.23. The tech-heavy Nasdaq rose 20.46 points or 0.4 percent to 4,654.85, while the S&P 500 edged up 3.13 points or 0.2 percent to 2,022.55.