Major Averages Finish Choppy Trading Modestly Lower

(RTTNews) - After ending the previous session sharply lower, stocks showed a lack of direction throughout much of the trading day on Wednesday. The major averages spent the session bouncing back and forth across the unchanged line.

Many of the major sectors ended the day showing only modest moves, although substantial weakness was visible among steel stocks. The NYSE Arca Steel Index plunged by 3.4 percent to its lowest closing level in well over six years.

The weakness among steel stocks came amid concerns about global demand following the release of disappointing Chinese manufacturing data.

Natural gas stocks also saw significant weakness on the day, resulting in a 2.5 percent drop by the NYSE Arca Natural Gas Index. Southwestern Energy (SWN) and Chesapeake Energy (CHK) posted steep losses.

Chemical, electronic storage and gold stocks also showed notable moves to the downside, while some strength was visible among commercial real estate stocks.

At the end of the day, the major averages were posting modest losses. The Dow dipped 50.58 points or 0.3 percent to 16,279.89, the Nasdaq edged down 3.98 points or 0.1 percent to 4,75274 and the S&P 500 slipped 3.98 points or 0.2 percent to 1,938.76.