Major Averages Close Firmly In The Red But Off Worst Levels

(RTTNews) - After moving modestly lower in early trading, stocks saw some further downside over the course of the trading day on Tuesday. The pullback on the day partly offset the upward move seen over the two previous sessions.

Steel stocks showed a substantial move to the downside over the course of the trading day. Reflecting the weakness in the sector, the NYSE Arca Steel Index dropped by 1.8 percent.

Olympic Steel (ZEUS) and U.S. Steel (X) turned in two of the sector's worst performances, falling by 4.8 percent and 4.4 percent, respectively.

Considerable weakness also emerged among biotechnology stocks, as reflected by the 1.8 percent loss posted by the NYSE Arca Biotechnology Index. Immunogen (IMGN) and InterMune (ITMN) posted steep losses on the day.

Airline stocks also came under pressure, dragging the NYSE Arca Airline Index down by 1.5 percent. Republic Airways (RJET) helped to lead the sector lower, tumbling by 3.7 percent.

Electronic storage, defense, and brokerage stocks also saw notable weakness, moving lower along with most of the other major sectors.

The major averages climbed off their worst levels in late-day trading but remained firmly in the red. The Dow tumbled 137.55 points or 0.8 percent to 16,374.31, the Nasdaq fell 28.92 points or 0.7 percent to 4,096.89 and the S&P 500 slid 12.25 points or 0.7 percent to 1,872.83.