Major Averages Close At Their Worst Levels Of The Day

(RTTNews) - Stocks showed a lack of direction throughout much of the trading day on Friday before coming under pressure going into the close. With the late-day pullback, the major averages added to the modest losses posted in the previous session.

Gold stocks saw significant weakness on the day, with the NYSE Arca Gold Bugs Index slumping by 2.2 percent. With the drop, the index fell to its lowest closing level in almost a month.

The weakness among gold stocks came amid a decrease by the price of the precious metal, as gold for December delivery slid $5.90 to $1,141.40 an ounce.

Considerable weakness was also visible among banking stocks, as reflected by the 1.7 percent loss posted by the Dow Jones Banks Index. KeyCorp (KEY) helped lead the sector lower after announcing an agreement to acquire First Niagara (FNFG) for $4.1 billion.

Biotechnology, tobacco, and railroad stocks also saw some weakness, although selling pressure was relatively subdued.

On the other hand, natural gas stocks showed a strong move to the upside, moving higher along with the price of natural gas. With natural gas for December delivery climbing $0.64 to $2.321 per million BTUs, the NYSE Arca Natural Gas Index advanced by 1.5 percent.

Steel, housing, and semiconductor stocks also moved notably higher, partly offsetting the weakness seen in the aforementioned sectors.

The major averages accelerated to the downside late in the session, closing at their worst levels of the day. The Dow slid 92.26 points or 0.5 percent to 17,663.54, the Nasdaq fell 20.53 points or 0.4 percent to 5,053.75 and the S&P 500 dropped 10.05 points or 0.5 percent to 2,079.36.

Despite closing lower for two straight days, the major averages managed to hold on to modest gains for the week. The Dow and the S&P 500 edged up by 0.1 percent and 0.2 percent, respectively, while the Nasdaq rose by 0.4 percent.