Nasdaq Closes Firmly Negative, Dow And S&P 500 Post Slim Losses

(RTTNews) - After trending higher over the past few sessions, stocks gave back some ground over the course of the trading day on Thursday. Selling pressure remained relatively subdued, however, limiting the downside for the markets.

Profit taking contributed to the weakness on Wall Street after both the Dow and the S&P 500 hit record intraday highs early in the session.

Biotechnology stocks showed a substantial move back to the downside after regaining some ground over the past few sessions. The NYSE Arca Biotechnology Index plunged by 2.9 percent but remained above the nearly two-month closing low set last Friday.

Exact Sciences (EXAS) turned in one of the biotech sector's worst performances, with molecular diagnostics company tumbling by 9.3 percent after announcing a proposed public offering of $125 million worth of its common stock.

Brokerage stocks also came under considerable selling pressure, dragging the NYSE Arca Broker/Dealer Index down by 2.2 percent. Online brokers E*Trade (ETFC) and TD Ameritrade (AMTD) posted steep losses on the day.

Significant weakness was also visible among software and electronic storage stocks, contributing to the sharp drop by the tech-heavy Nasdaq.

Meanwhile, natural gas and oil stocks saw notable strength on the day, with the NYSE Arca Natural Gas Index and the NYSE Arca Oil Index rising by 1.9 percent and 1.6 percent, respectively. The strength in the sectors came amid increases in the prices of the associated commodities.

The major averages all closed in the red, but the Nasdaq underperformed its counterparts by a wide margin. The Nasdaq tumbled 38.72 points or 0.9 percent to 4,237.74, while the Dow edged down 0.45 points or less than a tenth of a percent to 16,572.55 and the S&P 500 dipped 2.13 points or 0.1 percent to 1,888.77.