Major Averages End Choppy Trading Day Mixed, S&P 500 Still Sets New High

(RTTNews) - Stocks showed a lack of direction throughout the trading day on Friday before ending the session mixed. Another mixed batch of U.S. economic data contributed to the choppy trading on Wall Street, although the S&P 500 still managed to reach a new record closing high.

While most of the major sectors ended the session showing only modest moves, considerable weakness was visible among steel stocks. The NYSE Arca Steel Index plunged by 2 percent, falling to a two-month closing low.

Cliffs Natural Resources (CLF) and U.S. Steel (X) turned in two of the steel sector's worst performances, tumbling by 5.5 percent and 4.6 percent, respectively.

Electronic storage stocks also saw significant weakness, dragging the NYSE Arca Disk Drive Index down by 1.5 percent. With the drop, the index pulled back further off the nearly one-month closing high it set on Tuesday.

Networking and internet stocks also moved o the downside on the day, while notable strength emerged among gold and utilities stocks.

The major averages finished the session on opposite sides of the unchanged line. While the Nasdaq edged down 5.33 points or 0.1 percent to 4,242.62, the Dow inched up 18.43 points or 0.1 percent to 16,717.17 and the S&P 500 crept up 3.54 points or 0.2 percent to 1,923.57.

Despite the mixed performance on the day, the major averages all moved higher for the week. The Dow advanced by 0.7 percent, while the Nasdaq and the S&P 500 jumped 1.4 percent and 1.2 percent, respectively.