Major Averages Near Their Worst Levels In Mid-Day Trading

(RTTNews) - Stocks remain mostly negative in mid-day trading on Thursday after turning lower earlier in the session. The downward move on the day is extending the notable pullback that was seen over the course of the trading day on Wednesday.

Adding to the steep losses posted in the previous session, natural gas stocks have moved sharply lower on the day. The NYSE Arca Natural Gas Index has tumbled by 2.4 percent to its lowest intraday level in over five years.

Chesapeake Energy (CHK) is leading the sector lower after announcing a private offering of up to $1.5 billion of its new 8.00% Senior Secured Second Lien Notes due 2022.

Railroad stocks are also seeing significant weakness, with the Dow Jones Railroads Index slumping by 1.9 percent. Kansas City Southern (KSU) and Union Pacific (UNP) are posting notable losses.

Considerable weakness is also visible among telecom, commercial real estate and health care stocks, while gold stocks have shown a strong move to the upside.

Currently, the major averages are near their worst levels of the day. The Dow is down 90.83 points or 0.5 percent at 17,638.85, the Nasdaq is down 33.71 points or 0.7 percent at 5,089.52 and the S&P 500 is down 13.17 points or 0.6 percent at 2,066.34.