Major Averages Close Firmly In Negative Territory After Early Drop

(RTTNews) - Stocks came under pressure in early trading on Friday and remained firmly in the red throughout the remainder of the trading session. With the losses on the day, the S&P 500 pulled back well off yesterday's record closing high.

A negative reaction to the latest batch of earnings news contributed to the weakness on Wall Street on Friday, with shares of Amazon (AMZN) tumbling by 9.7 percent after the online retailer reported a wider than expected second quarter loss.

Adding to steep losses posted in the two previous sessions, semiconductor stocks moved sharply lower on the day. The Philadelphia Semiconductor Index tumbled by 2 percent, hitting its lowest closing level in well over a month.

Maxim Integrated (MXIM) helped lead the semiconductor sector lower after reporting weaker than expected fourth quarter results and providing disappointing guidance.

Retail stocks also saw significant weakness, dragging the Dow Jones Retail Index down by 1.5 percent. The disappointing earnings news from Amazon likely weighed on the sector.

Considerable weakness was also visible among natural gas stocks, as reflected by the 1.3 percent loss posted by the NYSE Arca Natural Gas Index. Noble (NBL) posted a notable loss, falling by 2.9 percent to a two-month closing low.

Meanwhile, gold stocks bucked the downtrend by the broader markets amid an increase by the price of the precious metal. With gold for August delivery climbing $12.50 to $1,303.30 an ounce, the NYSE Arca Gold Bugs Index jumped by 2.7 percent.

The major averages moved roughly sideways throughout the afternoon, stuck in negative territory. The Dow slid 123.23 points or 0.7 percent to 16,960.57, the Nasdaq fell 22.54 points or 0.5 percent to 4,449.56 and the S&P 500 dropped 9.64 points or 0.5 percent to 1,978.34.

For the week, the major averages turned in a mixed performance. While the Dow fell by 0.8 percent, the Nasdaq rose by 0.4 percent and the S&P 500 inched slightly higher.