Major Averages Close Just Above The Unchanged Line

(RTTNews) - After moving notably higher last week, stocks showed a lack of direction over the course of the trading day on Monday. Despite the choppy trading, the tech-heavy Nasdaq still ended the session at a new record closing high.

Most of the major sectors ended the day showing only modest moves, contributing to the lackluster close by the broader markets.

Gold stocks saw substantial weakness, however, with the NYSE Arca Gold Bugs Index plunging by 12.1 percent. With the drop, the index fell to its lowest closing level in over twelve years.

The sell-off by gold stocks came amid a sharp drop by the price of the precious metal, with gold for August delivery plummeting $21.50 to a five-year low of $1,106.80 an ounce.

Significant weakness was also visible among natural gas stocks, as reflected by the 3 percent loss posted by the NYSE Arca Natural Gas Index. The weakness in the sector came as natural gas for August delivery fell $0.47 to $2.823 per million BTUs.

Electronic storage, oil, and airline stocks also moved to the downside on the day, while some strength was visible among internet stocks.

The major averages finished the session slightly above the unchanged line. The Dow inched up 13.96 points or 0.1 percent to 18,100.41, the Nasdaq rose 8.72 points or 0.2 percent to 5,218.86 and the S&P 500 crept up 1.64 points or 0.1 percent to 2,128.28.