Major Averages Close In The Red But Well Off Early Lows

(RTTNews) - After recovering from an initial move to the downside, stocks showed a lack of direction throughout much of the trading session on Tuesday. The major averages spent the day bouncing back and forth across the unchanged line.

Despite the volatility shown by the broader markets, utilities stocks saw considerable weakness throughout the session. Reflecting the weakness in the sector, the Dow Jones Utilities Average slumped by 1.3 percent.

CenterPoint Energy (CNP) and Edison International (EIX) turned in two of the utilities sector's worst performances on the day.

Semiconductor stocks also saw notable weakness, resulting in a 1.2 percent drop by the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index. The pullback by the index came after it ended the previous session at a fourteen-year closing high.

Meanwhile, steel stocks showed a substantial move to the upside on the day, driving the NYSE Arca Steel Index up by 4.1 percent. The index rebounded after ending Monday's trading at its worst closing level in over a month.

Oil service and gold stocks also saw considerable strength on the day, moving higher along with the prices of their associated commodities.

The major averages eventually ended the day modestly lower. The Dow dipped 28.43 points or 0.2 percent to 18,011.94, the Nasdaq edged down 6.40 points or 0.1 percent to 5,076.52 and the S&P 500 slipped 2.13 points or 0.1 percent to 2,109.60.