Major Averages Close Higher Following Afternoon Recovery

(RTTNews) - With traders digesting a mixed batch of catalysts, stocks saw considerable volatility over the course of the trading day on Tuesday before closing mostly higher. The gains on the day extended the recovery off the two-month lows set last Friday.

After ending the previous session notably higher, oil service stocks saw some further upside on the day. The Philadelphia Oil Service Index advanced by 1.4 percent, reaching its best closing level in three years.

Core Laboratories (CLB) and Cameron International (CAM) turned in two of the oil service sector's best performances, climbing by 2.5 percent and 2.3 percent, respectively.

Significant strength also emerged among utilities stocks, as reflected by the 1.3 percent gain posted by the Dow Jones Utilities Average. With the gain, the average ended the session at a six-year closing high.

Railroad, software, and commercial real estate stocks also moved notably higher over the course of the trading day.

Meanwhile, substantial weakness was visible among gold stocks, as reflected by the 2.1 percent loss posted by the NYSE Arca Gold Bugs Index. The weakness in the sector came as gold for June delivery tumbled $27.20 to $1,300.30 an ounce.

Steel stocks also came under considerable selling pressure on the day, dragging the NYSE Arca Steel Index down by 2 percent.

The major averages showed a notable rebound in afternoon trading to end the day in positive territory. The Dow rose 89.32 points or 0.6 percent to 16,262.56, the Nasdaq edged up 11.47 points or 0.3 percent to 4,034.16 and the S&P 500 climbed 12.37 points or 0.7 percent to 1,842.98.