Major Averages Climb Off Lows But Close In The Red

(RTTNews) - Stocks saw considerable volatility following the Federal Reserve's monetary policy meeting on Wednesday but maintained a negative bias before closing modestly lower. The losses on the day partly offset the rally seen in the previous session.

Gold stocks saw considerable weakness throughout much of the session, dragging the NYSE Arca Gold Bugs Index down by 4.1 percent. With the steep drop on the day, the index fell to its worst closing level in nearly six years.

The weakness among gold stocks came amid a decrease by the price of the precious metal, with gold for December delivery falling $4.50 to $1,224.90 an ounce before seeing further downside in electronic trading.

Significant weakness was also visible among steel stocks, as reflected by the 1.7 percent loss posted by the NYSE Arca Steel Index. Cliffs Natural Resources (CLF) and Allegheny Technologies (ATI) posted notable losses.

Housing stocks also came under pressure on the day, dragging the Philadelphia Housing Sector Index down by 1.5 percent. Meritage Homes (MTH) led the sector lower after reporting weaker than expected third quarter results.

Internet and chemical stocks also moved to the downside on the day, while most of the other major sectors showed more modest moves.

The major averages ended the day in the red but well off their lows for the session. The Dow slipped 31.44 points or 0.2 percent to 16,974.31, the Nasdaq dipped 15.07 points or 0.3 percent to 4,549.23 and the S&P 500 edged down 2.75 points or 0.1 percent to 1,982.30.