Major Averages Stage Recovery Attempt But Finish In The Red

(RTTNews) - After coming under pressure in early trading on Monday, stocks regained some ground over the course of the session but still ended the day mostly lower. Traders generally showed a lack of conviction amid a relatively quiet news day.

While most of the major sectors ended the day showing only modest moves, considerable weakness remained visible among steel stocks. The NYSE Arca Steel Index fell 1.7 percent to its lowest closing level in a month.

Housing stocks also came under pressure, dragging the Philadelphia Housing Sector Index down by 1.4 percent. KB Home (KBH) and Meritage Homes (MTH) turned in two of the sector's worst performances.

Defense and gold stocks also moved to the downside on the day, while some strength emerged among tobacco stocks.

The major averages climbed well off their lows for the session but still finished the day in the red. The Dow dipped 34.04 points or 0.2 percent to 16,418.68, the Nasdaq edged down 1.77 points or less than 0.1 percent to 4,334.45 and the S&P 500 slipped 0.87 points or 0.1 percent to 1,877.17.