Major Averages Close In The Red, Nasdaq Underperforms

(RTTNews) - Stocks moved mostly lower during trading on Wednesday, giving back some ground after trending higher over the past several sessions. Selling pressure was relatively subdued, however, limiting the downside for the markets.

Electronic storage stocks turned in some of the market's worst performances on the day, dragging the NYSE Arca Disk Drive Index down by 1.9 percent. With the drop, the index gave back some ground after closing higher in five out of the six previous sessions.

EMC Corp. (EMC) helped to lead the storage sector lower, with the data storage equipment maker falling by 3.2 percent after lowering its full-year earnings guidance.

Considerable weakness was also visible among biotechnology stocks, as reflected by the 1.6 percent loss posted by the NYSE Arca Biotechnology Index. Industry giant Amgen (AMGN) posted a steep loss after reporting weaker than expected first quarter results.

Software, telecom, and housing stocks also saw significant weakness on the day, with the disappointing new home sales data weighing on the housing sector.

Meanwhile, gold stocks moved sharply higher over the course of the session, driving the NYSE Arca Gold Bugs Index up by 2.1 percent. The strength in the sector came as gold for June delivery rose by $3.50 to $1,284.60 an ounce.

Airline stocks also moved notably higher on the day, resulting in a 1.4 percent gain by the NYSE Arca Airline Index. Delta (DAL) jumped 6.1 percent after reporting better than expected first quarter earnings.

The major averages all closed in the red, although the tech-heavy Nasdaq underperformed its counterparts by a wide margin. While the Nasdaq slid 34.49 points or 0.8 percent to 4,126.97, the Dow edged down 12.72 points or 0.1 percent to 16,502.65 and the S&P 500 dipped 4.16 points or 0.2 percent to 1,875.39.