Major Averages Recover From Early Weakness To Close Slightly Higher

(RTTNews) - After coming under pressure in early trading, stocks staged a notable recovery over the course of the trading session on Tuesday. The major averages climbed well off their early lows to end the session slightly higher.

Gold stocks showed a substantial move to the upside on the day, driving the NYSE Arca Gold Bugs Index up by 4.4 percent. The index is rebounding after closing lower in the two previous sessions.

The strength among gold stocks came amid an increase by the price of the precious metal, with gold for December delivery climbing $7 to $1,073.80 an ounce.

Considerable strength was also visible among energy stocks, which moved higher along with the price of crude oil. Crude for January delivery jumped $1.16 to $42.91 a barrel.

Reflecting the strength in the energy sector, the Philadelphia Oil Service Index surged up by 3.2 percent, while the NYSE Arca Natural Gas Index and the NYSE Arca Oil & Gas Index advanced by 2.4 percent and 2.2 percent, respectively.

On the other hand, significant weakness remained visible among airline stocks, as reflected by the 2.4 percent loss posted by the NYSE Arca Airline Index.

The weakness among airline stocks came after the State Department issued a worldwide travel alert for Americans amid concerns about terrorist attacks.

The Dow edged up 19.51 points or 0.1 percent to 17,812.19, the Nasdaq crept up 0.33 points or less than a tenth of a percent to 5,102.81 and the S&P 500 inched up 2.55 points or 0.1 percent to 2,089.14.