Major Averages Slide Firmly Into The Red In Early Trading

(RTTNews) - Stocks have moved mostly lower in early trading on Thursday, extending the pullback seen over the course of the previous session. The major averages have slid firmly into negative territory, more than offsetting the strong gains posted on Tuesday.

The early weakness on Wall Street is partly due to the release of some disappointing U.S. economic data, including a report from the Labor Department showing a bigger than expected increase in initial jobless claims in the week ended December 26th.

The report said initial jobless claims climbed to 287,000, an increase of 20,000 from the previous week's unrevised level of 267,000. Economists had expected jobless claims to edge up to 270,000.

With the bigger than expected increase, jobless claims rose to their highest level since hitting 296,000 in the week ended July 4th.

A separate report from MNI Indicators said Chicago-area business activity unexpectedly contracted at a faster pace in December.

Airline stocks have shown a significant move to the downside on the day, dragging the NYSE Arca Airline Index down by 1.3 percent. The index is on pace to end the session at its lowest closing level in almost three months.

Software, semiconductor, and utilities stocks are also seeing considerable weakness, while natural gas stocks are bucking the downtrend.

In recent trading, the major averages have seen some further downside, hitting new lows for the young session. The Dow is down 149.03 points or 0.9 percent at 17,454.84, the Nasdaq is down 42.78 points or 0.8 percent at 5,023.07 and the S&P 500 is down 16.85 points or 0.8 percent at 2,046.51.