Major Averages Close Sharply Lower, At Their Worst Levels Of The Day

(RTTNews) - After ending the previous session mixed, stocks showed a substantial move to the downside over the course of the trading day on Thursday. The steep losses on the day pulled the Dow down to a two-month closing low, while the S&P 500 ended the session at its worst closing level in well over a month.

Most of the major sectors showed notable moves to the downside on the day, contributing to the sell-off by the broader markets.

Networking stocks turned in some of the market's worst performances, resulting in a 3.1 percent drop by the NYSE Arca Networking Index. With the loss, the index ended the session at its lowest closing level in well over two months.

Alcatel-Lucent (ALU) helped lead the networking sector lower, plummeting by 10.7 percent after reporting disappointing second quarter results.

Substantial weakness also emerged among telecom stocks, as reflected by the 2.8 percent loss posted by the NYSE Arca Telecom Index. Sprint (S) posted a particularly steep loss, tumbling by 5.3 percent.

Oil service stocks also saw significant weakness on the day, moving sharply lower along with the price of crude oil. With crude for September delivery plunging $2.10 to $98.17 a barrel, the Philadelphia Oil Service Index fell by 2.6 percent.

Biotechnology, internet, computer hardware, and defense stocks also saw considerable weakness amid broad based selling pressure.

The major averages ended the day at or near their lows for the session. The Dow plummeted 317.06 points or 1.9 percent to 16,563.30, the Nasdaq tumbled 93.13 points or 2.1 percent to 4,369.77 and the S&P 500 plunged 39.40 points or 2 percent to 1,930.67.