Major Averages Close Nearly Unchanged Following Choppy Trading Day

(RTTNews) - After recovering from an early move to the downside, stocks showed a lack of direction throughout afternoon trading on Thursday. The major averages eventually ended the choppy trading day nearly flat after falling sharply in recent sessions.

While many of the major sectors ended the day showing modest moves, substantial strength was visible among natural gas stocks. The NYSE Arca Natural Gas Index shot up by 2.7 percent, continuing to regain ground after ending Tuesday's trading at its lowest closing level in over a year.

Chesapeake Energy (CHK) helped to lead the natural gas sector higher, jumping by 17 after announcing the sale of shale assets to Southwestern Energy (SWN) for $5.375 billion.

Airline stocks also saw considerable strength on the day, driving the NYSE Arca Airline Index up by 2.2 percent. JetBlue (JBLU) posted a standout gain, surging up by 9 percent to its best closing level in over a month.

Significant strength was also visible among oil stocks, as reflected by the 1.5 percent gain posted by the NYSE Arca Oil & Gas Index. The index bounced off an eight-month closing low, as crude for November delivery climbed $0.92 to $82.70 a barrel.

Railroad, semiconductor, and biotechnology stocks also turned in strong performances on the day, while weakness remained visible among internet and pharmaceutical stocks.

The major averages finished the session on opposite sides of the unchanged line. While the Dow edged down 24.50 points or 0.2 percent to 16,117.24, the Nasdaq inched up 2.07 points or 0.1 percent to 4,217.39 and the S&P 500 crept up 0.27 points or less than a tenth of a percent to 1,862.76.