Stocks Turn Lower After Seeing Early Strength - U.S. Commentary

(RTTNews) - Stocks have turned lower over the course of the trading day on Wednesday after moving modestly higher earlier in the session. The major averages have pulled back well off their highs for the session and into negative territory.

Currently, the major averages are firmly in the red but off their worst levels of the day. The Dow is down 92.62 points or 0.6 percent at 16,522.19, the Nasdaq is down 16.86 points or 0.4 percent at 4,402.62 and the S&P 500 is down 6.47 points or 0.3 percent at 1,934.81.

The pullback by stocks may be partly due to profit taking following a recent upward move, with the Nasdaq and the S&P 500 moving back to the downside after closing higher for four straight sessions.

News that a Canadian soldier was killed in a shooting at the Canadian Parliament complex in Ottawa was also cited as a reason for the downturn by the markets.

Gold stocks have moved sharply lower over the course of the session, dragging the NYSE Arca Gold Bugs Index down by 2.5 percent. The index is poised to end the session at its worst closing level in almost six years.

The weakness among gold stocks comes amid a decrease by the price of the precious metal, with gold for December delivery falling $6.20 to $1,245.50 an ounce.

Substantial weakness has also emerged among oil service stocks, as reflected by the 2.5 percent loss being posted by the Philadelphia Oil Service Index. Crude for December delivery tumbled $1.97 to $80.52 a barrel, contributing to the weakness in the sector.

Transportation, natural gas, software, and brokerage stocks are also seeing considerable weakness, while notable strength remains visible among computer hardware stocks.

In overseas trading, stock markets across the Asia-Pacific region moved mostly higher during trading on Wednesday. Japan's Nikkei 225 surged up by 2.6 percent, while Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index jumped by 1.4 percent.

The major European markets also moved to the upside on the day. While the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index rose by 0.4 percent, the French CAC 40 Index and the German DAX Index both advanced by 0.6 percent.

In the bond market, treasuries have moved moderately lower, extending the recent pullback off last week's highs. Subsequently, the yield on the benchmark ten-year note, which moves opposite of its price, is up by 2.3 basis points at 2.231 percent.