YAHOO [BRIEFING.COM]: The stock market made a steady march higher for the first part of the session, but its gains faded so that listless trade turned into a mixed finish.

Trade opened with a loss of roughly 1% as global indices moved lower amid renewd selling pressure, which came about as concerns grew over the ability of eurozone countries to remedy the fiscal problems that have put them on tenuous financial footing. There are also concerns related to how efficiently funds pledged for eurozone countries by the European Union and International Monetary Fund can be dispensed.

Despite the weak start, stocks were able to gradually chop their way into higher ground. At its session high, the S&P 500 was up almost 1%. Meanwhile, the Nasdaq climbed as much as 1.3%.

Financial shares and tech issues helped push the broader market to its session high -- the financial sector was up 1.2% at its best level and the tech sector was up as much as 1.1%. However, both sectors retreated to a 0.5% loss.

Without the leadership of the two heaviest weighted sectors, overall trade turned listless and broader market gains faded into the close.

Save for precious metals plays, natural resource stocks came under the most pressure.

As such, energy stocks fell to a 0.8% loss. Their weakness was exacerbated by a pullback in oil prices, which closed pit trade with a 0.6% loss at $76.37 per barrel after it had swung from a marked loss to a strong midsession gain. Weekly oil inventory data is due tomorrow morning at 10:30 AM ET.

The materials sector shed 1.1% as steel stocks sank 3.8% and diversified metals stocks slid 3.0%. However, gold stocks gained 4.9% as gold prices pushed 1.7% higher to close at $1220.30 per ounce, but extended the move in electronic trade to set a new all-time high above the $1235 mark.

Gold's gain came without regard for a stronger dollar, which advanced 0.4% against a basket of foreign currencies. Many point to the dollar's strength and gold's gain as a sign that market participants want safety in the wake of the stock market's recent swings. Moreover, even though the Volatility Index (VIX) moved 2.2% lower in its second straight downturn, it is up more than 40% from its 52-week low in mid-April and well above its 200-day moving average.

Participation remains strong. With more than 1.5 billion shares exchanging hands on the NYSE this session, trading volume met or exceeded its 200-day moving average for the eighteenth time in 19 sessions.

Commodities as a whole ended relatively flat this session, much like where the broader market currently is.

On the other hand, precious metals soared this session. June gold rose 1.7% to close at $1220.30 per ounce. It has since reached a new all-time high at $1235.20 per ounce in the electronic trade. July silver climbed 4.0% to close at $19.29 per ounce.

After opening the pit trade in negative territory and breaching the $77.50 level intra-day, June crude oil pulled back in the afternoon to close down 0.6% at $76.37 per barrel. June natural gas closed 0.7% lower at $4.42 per MMBtu.

Treasuries had a quiet session that saw the benchmark 10-year Note finish a couple of ticks higher after it oscillated along the neutral line for the better part of the session. It showed little reaction to a $38 billion auction of 3-Year Notes that produced a yield of 1.41% and a bid-to-cover of strong 3.3, which was well above recent averages. Indirect bidders accounted for 50.7%, which was below recent averages.

Advancing Sectors: Utilities (+0.2%)
Declining Sectors: Materials (-1.1%), Energy (-0.8%), Tech (-0.5%), Financials (-0.5%), Industrials (-0.2%), Health Care (-0.2%), Telecom (-0.1%), Consumer Staples (-0.1%)
Unchanged: Consumer Discretionary DJ30 -36.88 NASDAQ +0.64 NQ100 -0.1% R2K +0.9% SP400 +0.3% SP500 -3.94 NASDAQ Adv/Vol/Dec 1600/2.48 bln/1065 NYSE Adv/Vol/Dec 1706/1.46 bln/1355