Major Averages Close Firmly In Negative Territory

(RTTNews) - After coming under pressure in early trading on Tuesday, stocks saw further downside over the course of the trading session. The major averages slid firmly into negative territory, more than offsetting the modest gains posted in the previous session.

Internet stocks showed a substantial move to the downside on the day, dragging the Dow Jones Internet Composite Index down by 3 percent. With the loss, the index pulled back toward the six-month closing low that it set last week.

Twitter (TWTR) helped lead the sector lower following the expiration of a six-month lock-up period that prevented insiders from selling shares of the social media giant's stock.

Significant weakness also emerged among brokerage stocks, as reflected by the 2.1 percent loss posted by the NYSE Arca Broker/Dealer Index. FXCM Inc. (FXCM) and E*Trade (ETFC) turned in two of the sector's worst performances.

Housing stocks also came under considerable selling pressure, resulting in a 1.7 percent drop by the Philadelphia Housing Sector Index. The index pulled back further off the nearly one-month closing high that it set last Friday.

Retail, computer hardware, banking, and biotech stocks also saw notable weakness, moving lower along with most of the other major sectors.

The Dow fell 129.53 points or 0.8 percent to 16,401.02, pulling back further off the record closing high that it set last Wednesday. The tech-heavy Nasdaq tumbled 57.30 points or 1.4 percent to 4,080.76, while the S&P 500 dropped 16.94 points or 0.9 percent to 1,867.72.