Major Averages Close Moderately Lower But Well Off Worst Levels

(RTTNews) - After showing a substantial move to the downside at the start of trading on Thursday, stocks regained some ground over the course of the session. The major averages climbed well off their worst levels of the day but remained stuck in negative territory.

Gold stocks showed a substantial downturn over the course of the trading day after bucking the early downtrend by the broader markets. The NYSE Arca Gold Bugs Index tumbled by 1.8 percent after reaching its best intraday level in well over three months.

The downturn by gold stocks came despite a notable increase by the price of the precious metal, as gold for August delivery climbed $14.90 to $1,339.20 an ounce.

Steel stocks saw significant weakness throughout the session, resulting in a 1.4 percent drop by the NYSE Arca Steel Index. With the loss, the index pulled back further off the six-month closing high it set a week ago.

Considerable weakness was also visible among oil service stocks, as reflected by the 1.3 percent loss posted by the Philadelphia Oil Service Index. Tidewater (TDW) and Oceaneering (OII) posted steep losses on the day.

Brokerage, trucking, railroad, and housing stocks also saw notable weakness, while strength that emerged among airline and computer hardware stocks contributed to the recovery attempt by the broader markets.

With the losses on the day, the major averages largely offset yesterday's gains. The Dow fell 70.54 points or 0.4 percent to 16,915.07, the Nasdaq slid 22.83 points or 0.5 percent to 4,396.20 and the S&P 500 dropped 8.15 points or 0.4 percent to 1,964.68.