Major Averages Close On Opposite Sides Of Unchanged Line

(RTTNews) - After recovering from an early move to the downside, stocks showed a lack of direction for much of the trading session on Monday. The major averages spent the day bouncing back and forth across the unchanged line before closing roughly flat.

While many of the major sectors ended the day showing only modest moves, considerable weakness remained visible among energy stocks. The continued weakness in the sector came even though the price of crude oil closed nearly flat after recovering from a low of $79.44 a barrel.

Oil service stocks turned in some of the worst performances within the energy sector, resulting in a 3.4 percent drop by the Philadelphia Oil Service Index.

Significant weakness was also visible among steel and chemical stocks, with the NYSE Arca Steel Index and the Dow Jones Chemicals Index falling by 2.6 percent and 2.1 percent, respectively.

On the other hand, biotechnology stocks showed a notable move to the upside, driving the NYSE Arca Biotechnology Index up by 1.1 percent. The gain extended a recent upward move by the index, which reached a new record closing high.

Electronic storage, airline, and trucking stocks also saw some strength on the day, offsetting the weakness seen in the aforementioned sectors.

While the Dow and the Nasdaq managed to end the day in positive territory, the S&P 500 edged down 2.95 points or 0.2 percent to 1,961.63. The Dow rose 12.53 points or 0.1 percent to 16,817.94, and the Nasdaq inched up 2.22 points or 0.1 percent to 4,485.93.