Major Averages Climb Well Off Lows But Still Close In The Red

(RTTNews) - After moving sharply lower for much of the trading day on Wednesday, stocks staged a significant recovery attempt going to the close. The major averages climbed well off their lows for the session but still ended the day in the red.

Despite the volatility shown by the broader markets, banking stocks saw considerable weakness throughout the session. The Dow Jones Banks Index plunged by 3.4 percent to its lowest closing level in almost five months.

KeyCorp (KEY) helped to lead the banking sector lower, tumbling by 5.8 percent after reporting weaker than expected third quarter results.

Bank of America (BAC) also came under pressure despite reporting a narrower than expected third quarter loss.

Significant weakness was also visible among utilities stocks, as reflected by the 1.3 percent loss posted by the Dow Jones Utilities Average. PSEG (PEG) and CenterPoint Energy (CNP) turned in two of the sector's worst performances.

Retail, tobacco, and steel stocks also saw notable weakness on the day but ended the session well off their worst levels of the session.

Meanwhile, strength that emerged among energy, housing, and networking stocks contributed to the late-day recovery attempt by the major averages.

While the Dow finished the session down 173.45 points or 1.1 percent at 16,141.74, the blue chip index had been down as much as 460 points. The Nasdaq edged down 11.85 points or 0.3 percent to 4,215.32, and the S&P 500 slid 15.21 points or 0.8 percent to 1,862.49.

Despite the late-day recovery by the major averages, the Dow and the S&P 500 still ended the day at a new six-month closing lows.