Major Averages Close Near Their Highs For The Session

(RTTNews) - Stocks moved mostly higher over the course of the trading day on Friday, adding to the substantial gains posted in the previous session. The markets continued to benefit from signs that lawmakers in Washington are making progress toward resolving the latest fiscal crisis.

Airline stocks showed a strong upward move over the course of the trading session, resulting in a 2.1 percent gain by the NYSE Arca Airline Index. The index moved higher for the third straight day, climbing back toward the six-year highs set last month.

Spirit Airlines (SAVE) helped lead the airline sector higher, surging up by 14.8 percent after reporting a 28.8 percent year-over-year jump in September passenger traffic.

Considerable strength was also visible among housing stocks, as reflected by the 1.7 percent gain posted by the Philadelphia Housing Sector Index. With the gain, the index climbed further off the one-month closing low it set on Wednesday.

Tobacco, trucking, and commercial real estate stocks also saw notable strength on the day, while most of the other major sectors showed more modest moves to the upside.

On the other hand, gold stocks came under substantial selling pressure, moving lower along with the price of the precious metal. With gold for December delivery tumbling $28.70 to $1,268.20 an ounce, the NYSE Arca Gold Bugs Index fell by 2.4 percent.

The major averages moved to the upside going into the close, once again ending the day near their highs. The Dow jumped 111.04 points or 0.7 percent to 15,237.11, the Nasdaq climbed 31.13 points or 0.8 percent to 3,791.87 and the S&P 500 rose 10.64 points or 0.6 percent to 1,703.20.

For the week, the major averages turned in yet another mixed performance. While the Nasdaq dipped by 0.4 percent, the Dow and the S&P 500 advanced by 1.1 percent and 0.8 percent, respectively.