Stocks showed a lack of direction throughout the trading day on Thursday as traders digested a mixed batch of economic data. Uncertainty ahead of Friday's monthly jobs report also contributed to the lack of conviction among traders.
Most of the major sectors showed only modest moves on the day, although considerable strength was visible among networking stocks. The NYSE Arca Networking Index surged up by 2.2 percent, regaining some ground after ending the two previous sessions sharply lower.
Infinera (INFN), Alcatel-Lucent (ALU), and Ciena (CIEN) turned in some of the networking sector's best performances.
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On the other hand, gold stocks came under pressure, with a notable decrease by the price of gold weighing on the sector. With gold for April delivery sliding $19.60 to $1,662 an ounce, the NYSE Arca Gold Bugs Index fell by 1.1 percent.
Defense stocks also showed a significant move to the downside, dragging the Philadelphia Defense Sector Index down by 1.2 percent. General Dynamics (GD), General Dynamics (LLL), and Raytheon (RTN) posted notable losses.
The major averages eventually ended the day in negative territory, although the Nasdaq posted a very slim loss. While the Nasdaq edged down 0.18 points or less than 0.1 percent to 3,142.13, the Dow fell 49.84 points or 0.4 percent to 13,860.58 and the S&P 500 slid 3.85 points or 0.3 percent to 1,498.11. (RTTNews)
