Major Averages Climb Off Lows But Remain Stuck In The Red

(RTTNews) - Stocks moved modestly lower over the course of the trading day on Tuesday, giving back some ground after trending higher over the past few weeks. Renewed concerns about the outlook for the Federal Reserve's stimulus program inspired some traders to cash in on recent strength in the markets.

After trending higher over the past three weeks, brokerage stocks gave back some ground on the day. The NYSE Arca Broker/Dealer Index fell by 1.2 percent after ending the previous session at its best closing level in almost five years.

Charles Schwab (SCHW) helped to lead the brokerage sector lower, with the discount broker falling by 3.3 percent after reporting weaker than expected second quarter earnings.

Significant weakness was also visible among chemical stocks, as reflected by the 1.2 percent loss posted by the Dow Jones Chemicals Index. FMC Corp. (FMC), PPG Industries (PPG), and Dow Chemical (DOW) posted notable losses.

Oil service, biotechnology, and trucking stocks also moved to the downside on the day, although selling pressure was relatively subdued.

Meanwhile, gold stocks moved sharply higher over the course of the session, driving the NYSE Arca Gold Bugs Index up by 5.6 percent. The rally by gold stocks came as gold for August delivery climbed $6.90 to $1,290.40 an ounce.

The major averages climbed well off their worst levels of the day but remained stuck in the red. The Dow edged down 32.41 points or 0.2 percent to 15,451.85, the Nasdaq dipped 8.99 points or 0.3 percent to 3,598.50 and the S&P 500 slid 6.24 points or 0.4 percent to 1,676.26.