Major Averages Pull Back Into Negative Territory After Higher Open

(RTTNews) - After failing to sustain an initial upward move, stocks have moved moderately lower over the course of early trading on Tuesday. The major averages have pulled back into negative territory, partly offsetting the strong gains posted last Friday.

A sharp drop by the price of crude oil is contributing to the early weakness that has emerged on Wall Street, as crude for February delivery is tumbling $2.34 to $46.35 a barrel.

The steep decline by the price of crude oil has led to notable weakness among energy stocks, with the Philadelphia Oil Service Index and the NYSE Arca Natural Gas Index falling by 1.7 percent and 2.2 percent, respectively.

Early weakness has also emerged among brokerage stocks, resulting in a 4.2 percent sell-off by the NYSE Arca Broker/Dealer Index.

Retail currency broker FXCM (FXCM) is posting a substantial loss after revealing further details of its emergency loan from Leucadia National (LUK).

Housing stocks have also come under pressure following the release of a report from the National Association of Home Builders showing a modest drop in homebuilder confidence in the month of January.

On the other hand, gold and airlines stocks have shown strong moves to the upside, partly offsetting the weakness in the aforementioned sector.

In recent trading, the major averages have climbed off their lows for the young session, but they are currently in the red. The Dow is down 45.11 points or 0.3 percent at 17,466.46, the Nasdaq is down 2.74 points or 0.1 percent at 4,631.65 and the S&P 500 is down 2.27 points or 0.1 percent at 2,017.15.