Major Averages Close Moderately Lower But Off Worst Levels

(RTTNews) - With traders continuing to do some profit taking, stocks moved moderately lower over the course of the trading day on Monday. Selling pressure remained relatively subdued, however, limiting the downside for the markets.

Banking stocks turned in some of the market's worst performances on the day, dragging the Dow Jones U.S. Banks Index down by 1.9 percent. The index moved lower for the third straight session after reaching its best closing level in a month last Wednesday.

Citigroup (C) helped to lead the banking sector lower, with the financial services giant falling by 3.2 percent after the Financial Times reported that the company has suffered a significant decline in trading revenues that threatens to depress its earnings.

Significant weakness was also visible among housing stocks, as reflected by the 1.7 percent loss posted by the Philadelphia Housing Sector Index. With the loss, the index pulled back further off last Wednesday's three-month closing high.

Biotechnology stocks also continued to give back ground, with the NYSE Arca Biotechnology Index falling by 1.4 percent after reaching a record closing high last Wednesday. Gold, networking, and electronic storage stocks also came under pressure on the day.

Meanwhile, health insurance stocks showed a notable move to the upside, driving the Morgan Stanley Healthcare Payor Index up by 1.1 percent. WellCare (WCG) and Centene (CNC) posted standout gains.

Considerable strength also emerged among utilities stocks, as reflected by the 1.1 percent gain posted by the Dow Jones Utilities Average.

The major averages climbed well off their worst levels of the day but still ended the session in negative territory. The Dow dipped 49.71 points or 0.3 percent to 15,401.38, the Nasdaq fell 9.44 points or 0.3 percent to 3,765.29 and the S&P 500 slid 8.07 points or 0.5 percent to 1,701.84.