Major Averages Pull Back Going Into The Close, End Nearly Flat

(RTTNews) - After seeing modest strength for much of the session, stocks gave back ground going into the close of trading on Wednesday. Despite the late-day pullback, the Dow managed to end the session at a new record closing high.

While many of the major sectors ended the day showing only modest moves, gold stocks showed a strong move to the upside. Reflecting the strength in the sector, the NYSE Arca Gold Bugs Index surged up by 2.9 percent.

The gains by gold stocks came even though the price of the precious metal moved lower on the day, with gold for February delivery sliding $4.50 to $1,173.50 an ounce.

Significant strength also remained visible among airline stocks, as reflected by the 1.9 percent gain posted by the NYSE Arca Airline Index. With the gain, the index reached its best closing level in over twelve years.

Utilities stocks also turned in a strong performance, driving the Dow Jones Utilities Average up by 1.7 percent to a record closing high. Biotechnology stocks also regained some ground after falling sharply on Tuesday.

The Dow inched up 6.04 points or less than a tenth of a percent to 18,030.21, while the Nasdaq rose 8.05 points or 0.2 percent to 4,773.47. Meanwhile, the S&P 500 slipped into the red in the final minutes of trading, edging down 0.29 points or less than a tenth of a percent to 2,081.88.