Nasdaq And S&P 500 Close Higher But Dow Posts Modest Loss

(RTTNews) - After seeing substantial weakness over the past few sessions, stocks moved mostly higher during trading on Tuesday. Buying interest remained relatively subdued, however, limiting the upside for the markets.

Despite the relatively lackluster close by the broader markets, airline stocks saw substantial strength on the day following recent weakness. The NYSE Arca Airline Index surged up by 3.7 percent, bouncing off a nearly eight-month intraday low.

American Airlines (AAL) and JetBlue (JBLU) turned in two of the airline sector's best performances, soaring by 10.3 percent and 8.7 percent, respectively.

Trucking stocks also saw considerable strength, resulting in a 3.1 percent jump by the Dow Jones Trucking Index. J.B. Hunt (JBHT) posted a standout gain after reporting better than expected third quarter earnings.

Significant strength was also visible among semiconductor stocks, as reflected by the 1.9 percent gain posted by the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index. The gain by the index came after it ended the previous session at its lowest closing level in eight months.

Railroad, steel, and commercial real estate stocks also turned in strong performances on the day, while energy stocks saw further downside along with the price of crude oil.

While the Dow ended the day down 5.88 points or less than a tenth of a percent at 16,315.19, the broader Nasdaq and S&P 500 both closed in positive territory. The Nasdaq climbed 13.52 points or 0.3 percent to 4,227.17 and the S&P 500 edged up 2.96 point or 0.2 percent to 1,877.70.