Major Averages Close Just Off Their Lows For The Session

(RTTNews) - While trading activity was relatively light on the last day of the year, stocks moved mostly lower over the course of the trading day on Thursday. The drop on the day extended the pullback that was seen in the previous session.

Semiconductor stocks saw significant weakness on the day, with the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index sliding by 1.4 percent. Skyworks Solutions (SWKS) and ASML (ASML) turned in two of the sector's worst performances.

Software and computer hardware stocks also came under pressure, dragging both the Dow Jones Software Index and the NYSE Arca Computer Hardware Index down by 1.3 percent.

Considerable weakness was also visible among utilities stocks, as reflected by the 1.1 percent loss posted by the Dow Jones Utilities Average. With the drop, the average pulled back further off the two-month closing high set on Tuesday.

Pharmaceutical, retail, and internet stocks also saw notable weakness on the day, while natural gas stocks bucked the downtrend amid an increase by the price of natural gas.

The major averages accelerated to the downside going into the close, ending the day just off their lows for the session. The Dow slumped 178.84 points or 1 percent to 17,425.03, the Nasdaq plunged 58.44 points or 1.2 percent to 5,007.41 and the S&P 500 dove 19.42 points or 0.9 percent to 2,043.94.

With the losses on the day, the major averages all moved lower for the holiday-shortened week. The Dow dropped by 0.7 percent, while the Nasdaq and the S&P 500 both fell by 0.8 percent.

However, the major averages turned in a mixed performance for the year, as the Nasdaq surged up by 5.7 percent but the Dow tumbled by 2.2 percent and the S&P 500 slid by 0.7 percent.