Ukraine News Contributes To Sharp Pullback By Major Averages

(RTTNews) - After moving mostly higher in early trading on Friday, stocks have shown a substantial move back to the downside. The pullback by the markets came on the heels of reports regarding a renewed conflict between Russia and Ukraine.

Most of the major sectors have turned lower over the course of the trading day, contributing to the sharp pullback by the broader markets.

Brokerage stocks have come under considerable selling pressure, dragging the NYSE Arca Broker/Dealer Index down by 1.2 percent. MarketAxess (MKTX) and Piper Jaffray (PJC) are posting notable losses.

Significant weakness has also emerged among retail stocks, as reflected by the 1.1 percent loss being posted by the Dow Jones Retail Index. Nordstrom (JWN) is leading the sector lower after reporting weaker than expected second quarter same-store sales growth.

Biotechnology, trucking, and airline stocks have also moved to the downside, while modest strength remains visible among natural gas stocks.

The major averages are currently posting notable losses, near their lows for the session. The Dow is down 112.96 points or 0.7 percent at 16,600.62, the Nasdaq is down 22.76 points or 0.5 percent at 4,430.24 and the S&P 500 is down 11.98 points or 0.6 percent at 1,943.20.