Major Averages Pull Back Off Highs But Still Close Firmly Positive

(RTTNews) - After moving notably higher in early trading on Friday, stocks gave back some ground as the day progressed but remained mostly positive. With the higher close, the major averages added to the strong gains posted on Monday and Wednesday.

Airline stocks saw significant strength on the day, resulting in a 1.3 percent gain by the NYSE Arca Airline Index. With the gain, the index climbed further off the one-month closing low it set on Tuesday.

Mexican airline Volaris (VLRS) helped to lead the sector higher, climbing by 4,7 percent. Brazil's Gol (GOL) and Avianca Holdings (AVH) also posted strong gains.

Considerable strength was also visible among commercial real estate stocks, as reflected by the 1.2 percent gain posted by the Morgan Stanley REIT Index.

Retail, telecom, and internet stocks also saw notable strength on the day, although buying interest was somewhat subdued.

On the other hand, gold stocks showed a substantial move to the downside, dragging the NYSE Arca Gold Bugs Index down by 4 percent. The weakness in the sector came as gold for December delivery dipped $1.60 to $1,076.30 an ounce.

Weakness was also visible among natural gas stocks, which moved lower as natural gas for December delivery slid $0.131 to $2.145 per million BTUs.

The major averages ended the day firmly in positive territory but well off their best levels of the day. The Dow climbed 91.06 points or 0.5 percent to 17,823.81, the Nasdaq advanced 31.28 points or 0.6 percent to 5,104.92 and the S&P 500 rose 7.93 points or 0.4 percent to 2,089.17.

For the week, the major averages all moved notably higher, nearly offsetting the sharp pullback seen last week. The Nasdaq surged up by 3.6 percent, while the Dow and the S&P 500 jumped by 3.4 percent and 3.3 percent, respectively.