Major Averages Close On Opposite Sides Of The Unchanged Line

(RTTNews) - Stocks turned in a mixed performance during trading on Tuesday following the rally seen in the previous session. While the Nasdaq hovered in positive territory throughout the session, the Dow and the S&P 500 both spent much of the day in the red.

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

Oil service stocks saw substantial weakness, however, with the Philadelphia Oil Service Index plunging by 3 percent. With the drop, the index pulled back further off the four-month closing high set last Wednesday.

The weakness among oil service stocks came amid a steep drop by the price of crude oil, with crude for June delivery tumbling $1.27 to $56.61 a barrel.

Natural gas and utilities stocks also moved notably lower on the day, dragging the NYSE Arca Natural Gas Index and the Dow Jones Utilities Average down by 1.5 percent and 1 percent, respectively.

On the other hand, considerable strength emerged among airline stocks, as reflected by the 1.4 percent gain posted by the NYSE Arca Airline Index. The index reached its best closing level in almost a month.

Networking, pharmaceutical, and gold stocks also saw some strength on the day, partly offsetting the weakness in the aforementioned sectors.

The tech-heavy Nasdaq ended the day up 19.50 points or 0.4 percent at 5,014.10, climbing back near the fifteen-year highs set a month ago. Meanwhile, the Dow slid 85.34 points or 0.5 percent to 17,949.59, and the S&P 500 fell 3.11 points or 0.2 percent to 2,097.29.