Major Averages Close Firmly Negative But Off Lows For The Session

(RTTNews) - Stocks moved notably lower during trading on Thursday but managed to end the session off their worst levels of the day. The losses still extended the drop seen in the previous session, with the Dow and the S&P 500 pulling back further off their record highs.

Brokerage stocks turned in some of the market's worst performances on the day, dragging the NYSE Arca Broker/Dealer Index down by 2.2 percent. With the loss, the index ended the session at its lowest closing level in a month.

Within the brokerage sector, E*Trade (ETFC) and Charles Schwab (SCHW) posted notable losses, tumbling by 4.7 percent and 4.6 percent, respectively.

Significant weakness was also visible among biotechnology stocks, as reflected by the 1.8 percent loss posted by the NYSE Arca Biotechnology Index. Incyte (INCY) helped lead the sector lower amid a negative reaction to the results of a study on its pancreatic cancer drug.

Gold stocks also saw considerable weakness, resulting in a 1.7 percent drop by the NYSE Arca Gold Bugs Index. The weakness in the sector came as gold for June delivery fell $12.30 to $1,293.60 an ounce.

Defense, chemical, and oil service stocks were also under pressure on the day, although most of the major sectors ended the session off their worst levels.

The major averages ended the day firmly in negative territory. The Dow tumbled 167.16 points or 1 percent to 16,446.81, the Nasdaq dropped 31.33 points or 0.8 percent to 4,069.29 and the S&P 500 lid 17.68 points or 0.9 percent to 1,870.85.