Major Averages Close Firmly Negative But Well Off Worst Levels

(RTTNews) - Stocks saw notable weakness during trading on Wednesday, extending the downward move seen over the past few sessions. After showing a substantial move to the downside, the major averages regained some ground but still closed firmly in the red.

While most of the major sectors ended the session well off the worst levels of the day, substantial weakness remained visible among steel stocks. The NYSE Arca Steel Index plunged by 3 percent to its lowest closing level in almost six years.

Allegheny Technologies (ATI) and Universal Stainless (USAP) turned in two of the steel sector's worst performances amid concerns about the outlook for global demand.

Financial stocks also ended the day notably lower following disappointing quarterly results from JP Morgan (JPM). Reflecting the weakness in the sector, the Dow Jones Banks Index and the NYSE Arca Broker/Dealer Index both tumbled by 2.1 percent.

Significant weakness also remained visible among gold stocks, as reflected by the 1.7 percent loss posted by the NYSE Arca Gold Bugs Index. The weakness in the sector came even though the price of the precious metal closed nearly flat.

Airline, trucking, and computer hardware stocks also saw some weakness on the day, while notable strength emerged among natural gas and utilities stocks.

While the Dow recovered after falling nearly 350 points, the blue chip index still ended the day down 189.59 points or 1.1 percent at 17,427.09. The tech-heavy Nasdaq also fell 22.18 points or 0.5 percent to 4,639.32, while the S&P 500 slid 11.76 points or 0.6 percent to 2,011.27.