Major Averages Posting Modest Losses In Mid-Day Trading

(RTTNews) - Stocks have fluctuated over the course of the trading day on Monday after showing a substantial move to the downside last week. While the markets have shown a negative bias, selling pressure has waned considerably from earlier in the session.

While many of the major sectors have recovered from their worst levels, significant weakness remains visible among natural gas stocks. The NYSE Arca Natural Gas Index is down by 1.9 percent, although it has bounced off a one-year intraday low.

Chesapeake Energy (CHK) and EOG Resources (EOG) are turning in two of the natural gas sector's worst performances, falling by 3.6 percent and 3.5 percent, respectively.

Retail, biotechnology, and oil service stocks also continue to see some weakness on the day, although selling pressure has waned.

On the other hand, gold stocks have shown a strong move to the upside, driving the NYSE Arca Gold Bugs Index up by 3.4 percent. The strength in the sector comes as gold for December delivery is climbing $8.50 to $1,230.20 an ounce.

Steel and networking stocks are also seeing notable strength in mid-day trading, contributing to the recovery attempt by the broader markets.

Currently, the major averages are posting modest losses, well off their worst levels of the day. The Dow is down 29.50 points or 0.2 percent at 16,514.60, the Nasdaq is down 6.54 points or 0.2 percent at 4,269.70 and the S&P 500 is down 6.60 points or 0.4 percent at 1,899.53.