Major Averages Close Higher For Second Consecutive Day

(RTTNews) - Stocks moved mostly higher over the course of the trading day on Friday, extending the recovery off recent lows that was seen in the previous session. The markets benefited from a positive reaction to weak new home sales data and big news from Microsoft (MSFT).

Gold stocks showed a substantial move to the upside on the day, benefiting from sharp increase by the price of the precious metal. With gold for December delivery jumping $25 to $1,395.80 an ounce, the NYSE Arca Gold Bugs Index surged up by 2.8 percent.

Iamgold (IAG) and Allied Nevada Gold (ANV) turned in two of the gold sector's best performances, advancing by 5.7 percent and 5.5 percent, respectively.

With Microsoft leading the way higher, considerable strength was also visible among software stocks. The Dow Jones Software Index shot up by 2.8 percent to its best closing level in a month.

Oil, tobacco, and telecom stocks also saw notable strength on the day, moving to the upside along with most of the other major sectors.

Meanwhile, housing stocks came under pressure on the heels of the disappointing new home sales data, dragging the Philadelphia Housing Sector Index down by 1.6 percent.

While the major averages reached new highs for the session in late-day trading, they gave back ground going into the close. The Dow still ended the day up 46.77 points or 0.3 percent at 15,010.51, the Nasdaq climbed 19.09 points or 0.5 percent to 3,657.79 and the S&P 500 rose 6.54 points or 0.4 percent to 1,663.50.

The major averages turned in a mixed performance for the week, as the Dow fell by 0.5 percent, while the Nasdaq jumped by 1.5 percent and the S&P 500 rose by 0.5 percent.