Major Averages Finish In Negative Territory As Early Strength Fades

(RTTNews) - After failing to sustain an early upward move, stocks turned lower over the course of the trading day on Monday. The major averages pulled back well off their early highs, eventually ending the session in negative territory.

Railroad stocks showed a significant move to the downside as the day progressed, dragging the Dow Jones Railroads Index down by 2.1 percent. The index partly offset a recent upward move but remained above the five-month closing low set last Monday.

Union Pacific (UNP), CSX Corp. (CSX), and Providence & Worcester (PWX) turned in some of the railroad sector's worst performances.

Considerable weakness also emerged among energy stocks, which moved lower on the day even as the price of crude for May delivery climbed $0.27 to $51.91 a barrel.

Reflecting the weakness in the energy sector, the Philadelphia Oil Service Index and the NYSE Arca Oil & Gas Index dropped by 1.3 percent and 1.2 percent, respectively.

Utilities, trucking, and pharmaceutical stocks also came under pressure on the day, while some strength remained visible among banking stocks.

Going into the close, the major averages saw some further downside, finishing the day near their lows for the session. The Dow slid 80.61 points or 0.5 percent to 17,977.04, the Nasdaq edged down 7.73 points or 0.2 percent to 4,988.25 and the S&P 500 fell 9.63 points or 0.5 percent to 2,092.43.