Major Averages Finish Choppy Trading Day In Positive Territory

(RTTNews) - After failing to sustain an early move to the upside, stocks fluctuated over the course of the trading session on Monday but managed to close mostly higher. The gains on the day partly offset the steep losses posted last Friday.

Many of the major sectors ended the day showing only modest moves, although substantial weakness was visible among biotechnology stocks. Reflecting the weakness in the biotech sector, the NYSE Arca Biotechnology Index plunged by 3.7 percent.

The weakness in the biotech sector was attributed to a Twitter post from Democratic presidential frontrunner Hillary Clinton, who said she would unveil a plan to take on "outrageous" price gouging in the specialty drug market.

Gold stocks also moved sharply lower on the day, dragging the NYSE Arca Gold Bugs Index down by 3.3 percent. The losses by gold stocks came as the price of gold for December delivery slid $5 to $1,132.80 an ounce.

On the other hand, brokerage stocks turned in a strong performance, resulting in a 1.4 percent gain by the NYSE Arca Broker/Dealer Index. LPL Financial (LPLA) and BGC Partners (BGCP) posted standout gains.

Notable strength was also visible among software stocks, as reflected by the 1.3 percent gain posted by the Dow Jones Software Index. Adobe Systems (ADBE) helped lead the sector higher, climbing by 2.6 percent.

The major averages all closed in positive territory, although the Nasdaq inched up only 1.73 points or less than a tenth of a percent to 4,828.96. The Dow advanced 125.61 points or 0.8 percent to 16,510.19, and the S&P 500 climbed 8.94 points or 0.5 percent to 1,966.97.