Major Averages Close Mixed Following Lackluster Trading Session

(RTTNews) - Following the sell-off seen in the previous session, stocks fluctuated over the course of the trading day on Tuesday. The major averages spent the day bouncing back and forth across the unchanged line before eventually ending the day mixed.

Housing stocks came under significant selling pressure over the course of the session, dragging the Philadelphia Housing Sector Index down by 1.7 percent. With the drop, the index fell to an eight-month closing low.

The weakness among housing stocks came following the release of a report from Standard & Poor's showing an unexpected drop in home prices in major metropolitan areas in the month of July.

Considerable weakness also emerged among biotechnology stocks, which pulled back sharply after seeing early strength. The NYSE Arca Biotechnology Index tumbled by 1.4 percent to its lowest closing level in over nine months.

Telecom and internet stocks also moved to the downside, while strength remained visible among commercial real estate and railroad stocks.

The tech-heavy Nasdaq slid 26.65 points or 0.6 percent to a one-month closing low of 4,517.32, while the Dow rose 47.24 points or 0.3 percent to 16,049.13 and the S&P 500 inched up 2.32 points or 0.1 percent to 1,884.09.