Major Averages Posting Modest Gains In Mid-Day Trading

(RTTNews) - With traders seemingly reluctant to make any significant moves, stocks continue to show a lack of direction in mid-day trading on Wednesday. The choppy trading comes on the heels of the strength that was seen in the previous session.

Despite the lack of direction being shown by the broader markets, gold stocks are seeing substantial strength in mid-day trading. Reflecting the strength in the gold sector, the NYSE Arca Gold Bugs Index has surged up by 3.9 percent.

The rally by gold stocks comes amid an increase by the price of the precious metal, with gold for February delivery climbing $11.10 to $1,210.50 an ounce.

Significant strength is also visible among steel stocks, as reflected by the 2.8 percent gain being posted by the NYSE Arca Steel Index. The index is regaining some ground after ending the previous session at its lowest closing level in well over a year.

Oil service stocks are also regaining ground following recent weakness, with the Philadelphia Oil Service Index up by 2.3 percent. The gain by the index comes after it ended Tuesday's trading at a two-year low.

Railroad, semiconductor, and networking stocks have also moved to the upside on the day, while some weakness is visible among utilities and biotech stocks.

Currently, the major averages are all in positive territory, although the Dow is up only 3.05 points or less than a tenth of a percent at 17,882.60. The Nasdaq is up 8.58 points or 0.2 percent at 4,764.39 and the S&P 500 is up 3.55 points or 0.2 percent at 2,070.10.