Major Averages Climb Off Lows But Remain In The Red

(RTTNews) - While stocks moved mostly lower in early trading on Tuesday, selling pressure has waned over the course of the session. The major averages have subsequently climbed well off their worst levels of the day but remain in the red.

Most of the major sectors are showing only modest moves in mid-day trading, contributing to the lackluster performance by the broader markets.

Brokerage stocks continue to see notable weakness, however, with the NYSE Arca Broker/Dealer Index falling by 1.1 percent. The loss by the index comes after it ended the previous session at a two-month closing high.

Investment Technology Group (ITG) and LPL Financial (LPLA) are turning in two of the brokerage sector's worst performances.

Commercial real estate, airline, and computer hardware stocks are also seeing some weakness on the day, although selling pressure has waned from earlier in the session.

Meanwhile, gold stocks have shown a strong move to the upside, moving higher along with the price of the precious metal. With gold for August delivery climbing $7.10 to $1,253.90 an ounce, the NYSE Arca Gold Bugs Index is up by 1.3 percent.

Currently, the major averages are posting modest losses on the day. The Dow is down 11.78 points or 0.1 percent at 16,931.32, the Nasdaq is down 6.13 points or 0.1 percent at 4,330.11 and the S&P 500 is down 2.93 points or 0.2 percent at 1,948.34.