Major Averages Close Mixed Following Choppy Trading Day

(RTTNews) - Stocks showed a lack of direction throughout much of the trading day on Thursday before ending the session little changed. The choppy trading came as traders seemed reluctant to make significant moves following recent volatility.

Many of the major sectors ended the day showing only modest moves, although substantial weakness was visible among gold stocks. Reflecting the weakness in the sector, the NYSE Arca Gold Bugs Index plummeted by 6.4 percent.

The steep drop by gold stocks came amid a decrease by the price of the precious metal, with gold for December sliding $8 to $1,115.60 an ounce.

Oil service stocks also saw significant weakness on the day, resulting in a 2.9 percent drop by the Philadelphia Oil Service Index. The weakness in the sector came as crude oil for September delivery fell $1.07 to $42.23 a barrel.

Natural gas, electronic storage, and steel stocks also saw notable weakness, while some strength was visible among housing stocks.

The major averages eventually finished the day on opposite sides of the unchanged line. While the Dow crept up 5.74 points or less than a tenth of a percent to 17,408.25, the Nasdaq dipped 10.83 points or 0.2 percent to 5,033.56 and the S&P 500 edged down 2.66 points or 0.1 percent to 2,083.39.