Major Averages Close Firmly In The Red But Off Worst Levels

(RTTNews) - After showing a lack of direction for much of morning trading on Monday, stocks showed a notable move to the downside in the afternoon. The major averages slid firmly into negative territory, with the Dow and the S&P 500 pulling back well off last Friday's record highs.

The weakness that emerged on Wall Street was partly due to a sharp drop by the price of crude oil, which weighed heavily on energy stocks.

Extending a recent sell-off, crude for January delivery plunged $2.79 to $63.05 a barrel, its lowest closing level since July of 2009.

Reflecting the weakness in the energy sector, the NYSE Arca Oil & Gas Index, the Philadelphia Oil Service Index, and the NYSE Arca Natural Gas Index all plummeted by more than 4 percent on the day.

Substantial weakness was also visible among railroad stocks, as reflected by the 3.1 percent loss posted the Dow Jones Railroads Index.

The railroad index has pulled back sharply in recent sessions amid concerns about the impact the drop in the price of oil will have on the industry.

Steel, computer hardware, internet, and chemical stocks also saw considerable weakness, moving lower along with most of the other major sectors.

On the other hand, biotechnology stocks managed to buck the downtrend and hold on to notable gains. The NYSE Arca Biotechnology Index jumped 2.1 percent to a record closing high.

While the major averages climbed off their worst levels of the day, they remained stuck in the red. The Dow fell 106.31 points or 0.6 percent to 17,851.48, the Nasdaq slid 40.06 points or 0.8 percent to 4,740.69 and the S&P 500 dropped 15.06 points or 0.7 percent to 2,060.31.