Major Averages Slide Firmly Into Negative Territory In Early Trading

(RTTNews) - Stocks have moved notably lower in early trading on Wednesday, extending the downward move seen over the course of the previous session. The major averages have slid firmly into negative territory, with the Dow on pace to set a new six-month closing low.

The early weakness on Wall Street partly reflects trepidation ahead of the release of the minutes of the Federal Reserve's latest monetary policy meeting this afternoon.

The minutes are likely to be closely analyzed for hints regarding whether the Fed will begin raising interest rates at its next meeting in September.

Traders are also expressing concerns about recent volatility in the Chinese stock market, as the Shanghai Composite Index ended the day up by 1.2 percent after falling more than 5 percent. Steel stocks have shown a significant move to the downside in early trading, dragging the NYSE Arca Steel Index down by 2 percent. The index is currently poised to end the session at its lowest closing level in over six years.

Energy, biotechnology, chemical, and brokerage stocks are also seeing considerable weakness, moving lower along with most of the other major sectors.

Currently, the major averages are stuck in the red, not far off their worst levels of the day. The Dow is down 160.08 points or 0.9 percent at 17,351.26, the Nasdaq is down 34.04 points or 0.7 percent at 5,025.31 and the S&P 500 is down 17.27 points or 0.8 percent at 2,079.65.