Major Averages Close Firmly In The Red But Off Worst Levels

(RTTNews) - Stocks saw some volatility over the course of the trading day on Friday but maintained a negative bias throughout the session. Worries about possible military action against Syria weighed on the markets ahead of the long weekend.

Housing stocks saw considerable weakness on the day, dragging the Philadelphia Housing Sector Index down by 1.4 percent. The index partly offset yesterday's 1.7 percent gain, pulling back near Wednesday's eight-month closing low.

M/I Homes (MHO) and D.R. Horton (DHI) turned in two of the housing sector's worst performances, with both stocks falling by 3 percent.

Significant weakness also emerged among biotechnology stocks, as reflected by the 1.4 percent loss posted by the NYSE Arca Biotechnology Index. InterMune (ITMN) helped to lead the sector lower, sliding by 4.1 percent.

Trucking stocks also showed a notable move to the downside on the day, resulting in a 1.4 percent drop by the Dow Jones Trucking Index. With the loss, the index hit a nearly two-month closing low.

Gold, healthcare provider and brokerages stocks also posted notable losses, moving lower along with most of the other major sectors.

The major averages ended the day in negative territory but off their lows for the session. The Dow edged down 30.64 points or 0.2 percent to 14,810.31, the Nasdaq slid 30.43 points or 0.8 percent to 3,589.87 and the S&P 500 dipped 5.20 points or 0.3 percent at 1,632.97.

Largely reflecting the sell-off seen on Tuesday, the major averages closed notably lower for the week. The Dow fell by 1.3 percent, while the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq tumbled by 1.8 percent and 1.9 percent, respectively.