Major Averages Finish Choppy Trading Day Modestly Lower

(RTTNews) - After failing to sustain an early upward move, stocks showed a lack of direction throughout much of the trading day on Wednesday. The major averages bounced back and forth across the unchanged before ending the session modestly lower.

Many of the major sectors ended the day showing only modest moves, contributing to the lackluster close by the broader markets.

Telecom stocks came under considerable selling pressure, however, with the NYSE Arca Telecom Index falling by 1.4 percent. With the drop, the index fell to its lowest closing level in a month.

Within the telecom sector, AT&T (T) moved lower after revealing that it expects to take a $130 million charge related to the voluntary retirement of about 3,000 workers.

Notable weakness was also visible among computer hardware stocks, which saw further downside after turning in some of the worst performances on Tuesday.

Meanwhile, gold stocks showed a substantial move to the upside on the day, driving the NYSE Arca Gold Bugs Index up by 3.3 percent. The rally came despite a decrease by the price of gold.

Transportation, natural gas, and brokerage stocks also saw some strength, partly offsetting the losses posted in the previous session.

The major averages added to the steep losses posted in the previous session, falling to their lowest levels in a month. The Dow slipped 27.55 points or 0.2 percent to 17,635.39, the Nasdaq edged down 9.85 points or 0.2 percent to 4,849.94 and the S&P 500 dipped 3.92 points or 0.2 percent to 2,040.24.