While buying interest was relatively subdued, stocks moved modestly higher over the course of the trading day on Tuesday. The strength on the day offset the weakness seen in the previous session, with the Dow and the S&P 500 reaching new record closing highs.
Trucking stocks showed a substantial move to the upside on the day, driving the Dow Jones Trucking Index up by 1.8 percent. The gain extended a recent upward move by the index, which reached a record closing high.
Arkansas Best (ABFS) and YRC Worldwide (YRCW) turned in two of the trucking sector's best performances, advancing by 5.2 percent and 4.5 percent, respectively.
Steel stocks also turned in a strong performance, resulting in a 1.1 percent gain by the NYSE Arca Steel Index AK Steel (AKS) helped to lead the sector higher, jumping by 4 percent.
Pharmaceutical, commercial real estate, and telecom stocks also saw some strength on the day, although buying interest remained subdued.
Meanwhile, gold stocks came under pressure, giving back ground after moving sharply higher over the course of the previous session. The NYSE Arca Gold Bugs Index fell by 2.7 percent, partly offsetting Monday's 6 percent gain.
The major averages gave back some ground in late-day trading but remained in positive territory. The Dow ended the day up 52.30 points or 0.3 percent to 15,387.58, the Nasdaq rose 5.69 points or 0.2 percent to 3,502.12 and the S&P 500 climbed 2.87 points or 0.2 percent to 1,669.16.
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