Major Averages Continue To Post Slim Gains In Mid-Day Trading

(RTTNews) - While buying interest has waned from earlier in the session, stocks remain mostly positive in mid-day trading on Monday. The major averages are adding to the strong gains posted on Friday, further offsetting the pullback seen early last week.

After falling sharply over the past few weeks, gold stocks are showing a notable move back to the upside on the day. The NYSE Arca Gold Bugs Index has advanced by 1.3 percent, bouncing off its worst closing level in five years.

The strength among gold stocks comes amid an increase by the price of the precious metal, with gold for February delivery climbing $5.50 to $1,234.50 an ounce.

Considerable strength is also visible among housing stocks, as reflected by the 1.3 percent gain being posted by the Philadelphia Housing Sector Index. Ryland Group (RYL), Lennar (LEN), and Hovnanian (HOV) are turning in some of the sector's best performances.

Steel stocks are also seeing significant strength on the heels of the upbeat news out of China, while most of the other major sectors are showing only modest moves on the day.

Currently, the major averages are posting modest gains, well off their highs for the session. The Dow is up 17.92 points or 0.1 percent at 16,038.12, the Nasdaq is up 8.15 points or 0.2 percent at 4,070.67 and the S&P 500 is up 4.57 points or 0.3 percent at 1,809.66.