Major Averages Moderately Higher, Near Best Levels Of The Day

(RTTNews) - While trading activity was somewhat subdued ahead of Christmas, stocks moved mostly higher during trading on Tuesday. The markets benefited from a positive reaction to a pair of better than expected economic reports.

Gold stocks showed a substantial move to the upside over the course of the trading day, driving the NYSE Arca Gold Bugs Index up by 3 percent. With the gain, the index climbed further off the five-year closing low that it set last Friday.

The rally by gold stocks came amid a moderate increase by the price of the previous metal, with gold for February delivery rising $6.20 to $1,203.20 an ounce.

Notable strength also emerged among steel stocks, as reflected by the 1.1 percent gain posted by the NYSE Arca Steel Index. The gain lifted the index to a ten-month closing high.

Oil service, chemical, and software stocks also saw some strength on the day, while most of the other major sectors showed more modest moves.

The major averages closed moderately higher, near their best levels of the day. The Dow climbed 62.94 points or 0.4 percent to 16,357.55, the Nasdaq edged up 6.51 points or 0.2 percent to 4,155.42 and the S&P 500 rose 5.33 points or 0.3 percent to 1,833.32.

The gains on the day lifted the Dow and the S&P 500 to new record closing highs, while the Nasdaq once again reached its best levels since 2000.