Major Averages Close Sharply Lower But Off Worst Levels

(RTTNews) - Following the mixed performance seen last week, stocks moved sharply lower over the course of the trading day on Tuesday. The Dow continued to pull back off the record closing high it set a week ago, while the S&P 500 pulled back further off the record closing high it set last Thursday.

Most of the major sectors moved to the downside on the day, reflecting broad based selling pressure on Wall Street.

Gold stocks posted particularly steep losses, dragging the NYSE Arca Gold Bugs Index down by 3.7 percent. The steep drop pulled the index down to its lowest closing level in almost two months.

The weakness among gold stocks came amid a notable decrease by the price of the precious metal, as gold for June delivery fell $17.10 to $1,186.90 an ounce.

Significant weakness was also visible among oil service stocks, which moved lower along with the price of crude oil. With crude for July delivery tumbling $1.69 to $58.03 a barrel, the Philadelphia Oil Service Index dropped by 2.7 percent.

Airline stocks also saw considerable weakness, as reflected by the 2.4 percent loss posted by the NYSE Arca Airline Index. The decrease extended a recent pullback by the index, which fell to a five-month closing low.

Steel, natural gas, computer hardware, railroad and trucking stocks also showed notable moves to the downside on the day.

The major averages climbed off their worst levels going into the close but remained firmly negative. The Dow tumbled 190.48 points or 1 percent to 18,041.54, the Nasdaq plummeted 56.61 points or 1.1 percent to 5,032.75 and the S&P 500 slumped 21.86 points or 1 percent to 2,104.20.