Major Averages Recover From Initial Weakness To Close Mixed

(RTTNews) - After coming under pressure in early trading on Tuesday, stocks showed a significant recovery over the course of the trading day. The major averages bounced well off their worst levels of the day, with the Nasdaq climbing firmly into positive territory.

While many of the major sectors ended the day showing only modest moves, substantial strength was visible among gold stocks. Reflecting the strength in the gold sector, the NYSE Arca Gold Bugs Index surged up by 5 percent.

The gains by gold stocks came amid a sharp jump by the price of the precious metal, as gold for February soared $37.10 to $1,232 an ounce.

With the price of crude oil rebounding following yesterday's sell-off, energy stocks also moved to the upside on the day. The Philadelphia Oil Service Index jumped by 2.6 percent, while the NYSE Arca Natural Gas Index advanced by 1.8 percent.

Electronic storage and networking stocks also saw notable strength, contributing to the gain posted by the tech-heavy Nasdaq.

On the other hand, airline stocks saw considerable weakness on the day, dragging the NYSE Arca Airline Index down by 3.3 percent. With the loss, the index pulled back further off the twelve-year closing high set last Friday.

Spirit Airlines (SAVE) turned in one of the sector's worst performances, tumbling by 12.7 percent after Raymond James downgraded the stock to market perform from outperform.

Telecom, trucking, and pharmaceutical stocks also saw notable weakness, with Verizon (VZ) leading the telecom sector lower after warning of short-term pressure on profit margins.

While the Nasdaq managed to end the day up 25.77 points or 0.5 percent at 4,766.47, the Dow and the S&P 500 closed modestly lower. The Dow slipped 51.28 points or 0.3 percent to 17,801.20, while the S&P 500 edged down 0.49 points or less than a tenth of a percent to 2,059.82.