Major Averages Close Lower Following Recent Volatility

(RTTNews) - After coming under pressure in early trading, stocks remained in the red throughout the trading session on Friday. The drop on the day came on the heels of the volatility seen in the two previous sessions.

Despite the pullback by the broader markets, most of the major sectors ended the day showing only modest moves.

Truck stocks saw significant weakness, however, resulting in a 1.6 percent drop by the Dow Jones Trucking Index. With the drop, the index ended the session at its lowest closing level in seven months.

Knight Transportation (KNX) and Old Dominion (ODFL) turned in two of the trucking sector's worst performances.

Electronic storage, steel, software and housing stocks also showed notable moves to the downside on the day.

The major average fluctuated as the day progressed but remained firmly in negative territory. The Dow slid 115.44 points or 0.6 percent to 18,010.68, the Nasdaq fell 27.95 points or 0.6 percent to 5,070.03 and the S&P 500 dropped 13.40 points or 0.6 percent to 2,107.39.