Major Averages Close Firmly Negative, Near Their Worst Levels

(RTTNews) - Despite a lack of major catalysts, stocks moved notably lower over the course of the trading day on Wednesday. The pullback following yesterday's modestly higher close reflected the recent downward momentum for the markets.

Electronic storage stocks saw considerable weakness on the day, dragging the NYSE Arca Disk Drive Index down by 2.5 percent. With the drop, the index fell to its lowest closing level in over a month.

Imation (IMN) and Hutchinson Technology (HTCH) turned in two of the storage sector's worst performances, falling by 4.2 percent and 3.1 percent, respectively.

Significant weakness was also visible among semiconductor stocks, as reflected by the 1.6 percent loss posted by the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index. Cree (CREE) led the sector lower, tumbling by 22.4 percent after providing disappointing first quarter guidance.

Trucking, health insurance, and retail stocks also saw notable weakness, while most of the other major sectors showed more modest moves to the downside.

On the other hand, gold stocks bucked the downtrend on the day, driving the NYSE Arca Gold Bugs Index up by 5.6 percent. The strength among gold stocks came as gold for December delivery climbed $12.90 to $1,333.40 an ounce.

The major averages ended the day firmly in negative territory, near their worst levels of the day. The Dow fell 113.35 points or 0.7 percent to 15,337.27, the Nasdaq dipped 15.17 points or 0.4 percent to 3,669.27 and the S&P 500 slid 8.77 points or 0.5 percent to 1,685.39.