Major Averages Close Mixed Despite Rally At The Open

(RTTNews) - After turning in a strong performance last week, U.S. stocks saw some further upside at the start of trading on Monday. Buying interest waned not long after the open, although stocks still managed to end the day mostly higher.

While most of the major sectors ended the session well off their best levels of the day, considerable strength remained visible among health insurance stocks. The Morgan Stanley Healthcare Payor Index rose by 1.5 percent, reaching a new record closing high.

Health Net (HNT) and Molina Healthcare (MOH) turned in two of the health insurance sector's best performances, advancing by 3.6 percent and 3.4 percent, respectively.

Housing stocks gave back some ground but also held on to strong gains, driving the Philadelphia Housing Sector Index up by 1.4 percent. The gain lifted the index to its best closing level in over a month.

Defense, transportation, and commercial real estate stocks also turned in strong performances, while most of the other major sectors ended the day showing only modest moves.

The major averages ended the day mixed, as a steep loss by Apple (AAPL) weighed on the Nasdaq. While the Nasdaq edged down 4.34 points or 0.1 percent to 3,717.85, the Dow jumped 118.72 points or 0.8 percent to 15,494.78 and the S&P 500 climbed 9.60 points or 0.6 percent to 1,697.60.