Major Averages Close Mixed After Choppy Trading Day

(RTTNews) - After trending higher over the past few sessions, stocks showed a lack of direction throughout the trading day on Wednesday before closing mixed.

The choppy trading on Wall Street came as traders seemed reluctant to make any significant moves amid a lack of major U.S. economic data.

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

Gold stocks saw substantial weakness, however, giving back some ground after moving sharply higher over the past few sessions. The NYSE Arca Gold Bugs Index tumbled by 2.8 percent, pulling back off yesterday's three-month closing high.

Notable weakness was also visible among tobacco stocks, while semiconductor and telecom stocks moved to the upside on the day.

The major averages eventually ended the day on opposite sides of the unchanged line, with the Nasdaq posting a modest gain.

While the Nasdaq inched up 10.24 points or 0.2 percent to 4,201.29, the Dow dipped 30.83 points or 0.2 percent to 15,963.94 and the S&P 500 edged down 0.49 points or less than a tenth of a percent to 1,819.26.