Major Averages Pull Back Into Negative Territory

(RTTNews) - After showing a lack of direction earlier in the session, stocks have moved moderately lower over the course of the trading session on Friday.

The major averages have pulled back somewhat more firmly into negative territory after ending the previous session nearly flat.

The Dow is down 43.63 points or 0.2 percent 17,882.80, the Nasdaq is down 14.61 points or 0.3 percent at 4,931.28 and the S&P 500 is down 5.03 points or 0.2 percent at 2,077.75.

The weakness that has emerged on Wall Street is partly due to a notable decrease by the price of crude oil, with crude for May delivery sliding $0.93 to $40.57 a barrel.

The continued decrease by the price of crude oil reflects trepidation ahead of this weekend's meeting of major oil producers in Doha.

Traders are also digesting the latest batch of U.S. economic data, including a report from the Federal Reserve showing a much bigger than expected drop in industrial production in March.

Computer hardware stocks have come under pressure on the day, with Super Micro Computer (SMCI) leading the sector lower after warning of weaker than expected third quarter results.

Oil, networking, and brokerage stocks have also moved to the downside, while gold stocks are bucking the downtrend amid an increase by the price of the precious metal.