Major Averages Close Mixed Following Choppy Trading Day

(RTTNews) - With traders reluctant to make any significant moves ahead of tomorrow's monthly jobs report, stocks fluctuated throughout the trading day on Thursday before ending the session mixed. A mixed batch of economic data also contributed to the choppy trading.

While many of the major sectors ended the day showing only modest moves, considerable weakness was visible among gold stocks. Reflecting the weakness in the gold sector, the NYSE Arca Gold Bugs Index fell by 1.5 percent.

The weakness among gold stocks came amid a notable decrease by the price of the precious metal, with gold for June delivery sliding $12.50 to $1,283.40 an ounce.

Electronic storage stocks also came under pressure, dragging the NYSE Arca Disk Drive Index down by 1.4 percent to a four-month closing low. Western Digital (WDC) helped to lead the sector lower after reporting better than expected third quarter earnings but providing disappointing guidance.

Meanwhile, airline stocks showed a strong move to the upside on the day, resulting in a 1.8 percent advance by the NYSE Arca Airline Index. Republic Airways (RJET) posted a substantial gain after reporting strong first quarter earnings growth.

Internet stocks also saw significant strength on the day, contributing to the upward move by the tech-heavy Nasdaq. The Dow Jones Internet Composite Index rose by 1.4 percent, climbing further off the six-month closing low that it set on Monday.

The major averages ended the day on opposite sides of the unchanged line. While the Nasdaq rose 12.90 points or 0.3 percent to 4,127.45, the Dow dipped 21.97 points or 0.1 percent to 16,558.87 and the S&P 500 edged down 0.27 points or less than a tenth of a percent to 1,883.68.