Major Averages Remain Firmly Negative After Sharply Lower Open

(RTTNews) - While stocks moved sharply lower at the start of trading on Wednesday, selling pressure waned not long after the open. The major averages have subsequently climbed off their early lows but remain stuck firmly in negative territory.

The initial weakness on Wall Street was partly due to the release of disappointing U.S. retail sales data for the month of December.

The Commerce Department said retail sales slumped by 0.9 percent in December, while economists had expected sales to edge down by just 0.1 percent.

The bigger than expected drop in sales was due in large part to lower gasoline prices, although the report still raised concerns that the U.S. economy could succumb to the slowdown overseas.

Concerns about the global economy are contributing to significant weakness among steel stocks, with the NYSE Arca Steel Index tumbling by 3.1 percent. With the loss, the index has fallen to its lowest levels in almost six years.

Financial stocks are also seeing notable weakness due in part to a negative reaction to quarterly results from JP Morgan (JPM).

Reflecting the weakness in the financial sector, the NYSE Arca Broker/Dealer Index and the Dow Jones Banks Index are down by 2.2 percent and 2 percent, respectively.

Energy, chemical, and computer hardware stocks are also seeing considerable weakness, moving lower along with most of the other major sectors.

The major averages have given back some ground in the past few minutes but remain well off their worst levels. The Dow is down 186.69 points or 1.1 percent at 17,426.99, the Nasdaq is down 25.15 points or 0.5 percent at 4,636.35 and the S&P 500 is down 16.65 points or 0.8 percent at 2,006.38.