Major Averages Plunge To Two-Month Closing Lows

(RTTNews) - Stocks moved sharply lower over the course of the trading day on Tuesday, adding to the modest losses posted in the previous session. The pullback more than offset last Friday's rally, with the major averages falling to their lowest closing levels in about two months.

The sell-off on Wall Street was partly due to concerns about the global economic outlook following the release of more disappointing German economic data.

While most of the major sectors came under pressure on the day, gold stocks showed a substantial move to the downside. The NYSE Arca Gold Bugs Index plummeted by 3.5 percent to its lowest closing level in almost six years.

The pullback by gold stocks came despite a continued recovery by the price of the precious metal, as gold for December delivery climbed $5.10 to $1,212.40 an ounce.

Significant weakness was also visible among transportation stocks, as reflected by the 2.5 percent loss posted by the Dow Jones Transportation Average. The steep drop pulled the average down to a nearly two-month closing low.

Computer hardware stocks also moved sharply lower on the day, dragging the NYSE Arca Computer Hardware Index down by 2.2 percent. Hewlett-Packard (HPQ) helped to lead the sector lower after ending the previous session notably higher.

Networking, defense, brokerage, and pharmaceutical stocks also came under considerable selling pressure, reflecting broad based weakness on Wall Street.

The major averages saw further downside going into the close, ending the session at their worst levels of the day. The Dow plunged 272.52 points or 1.6 percent to 16,719.39, the Nasdaq tumbled 69.60 points or 1.6 percent to 4,385.20 and the S&P 500 plummeted 29.72 points or 1.5 percent to 1,935.10.