Major Averages Experience Late-Day Volatility But Close Firmly Positive

(RTTNews) - Stocks fluctuated in the latter part of the trading day on Monday but managed to close notably higher following an early upward move. Upbeat retail sales data helped the markets regain some ground following the sell-off seen late last week.

Trucking stocks showed a strong move to the upside over the course of the trading day, driving the Dow Jones Trucking Index up by 1.9 percent. With the gain, the index ended the session at its best closing level in well over two months.

J.B. Hunt (JBHT) helped to lead the trucking sector higher, advancing by 3.9 percent despite reporting weaker than expected first quarter earnings.

Considerable strength was also visible among oil service stocks, which moved higher along with the price of crude oil. With crude for May delivery climbing $0.31 to $104.05 a barrel, the Philadelphia Oil Service Index rose by 1.5 percent.

Similarly, gold stocks moved higher along with the price of the precious metal, resulting in a 1.5 gain by the NYSE Arca Gold Bugs Index. The strength in the sector came as gold for June delivery advanced $8.50 to $1,327.50 an ounce.

Computer hardware, steel, and telecom stocks also saw notable strength on the day, while airline stocks bucked the uptrend.

The major averages ended the day firmly in positive territory. The Dow advanced 146.49 points or 0.9 percent to 16,173.24, the Nasdaq rose 22.96 points or 0.6 percent to 4,022.69 and the S&P 500 climbed 14.92 points or 0.8 percent at 1,830.61.