Major Averages Halt Six-Week Winning Streak With Steep Drop

(RTTNews) - With traders reacting to disappointing retail sales data, stocks moved sharply lower over the course of the trading day on Friday. The losses on the day extended a recent downtrend by the markets, with the S&P 500 closing lower for the seventh time in eight sessions.

Retail stocks turned in some of the worst performances on the day following the disappointing sales data. The Dow Jones Retail Index plunged by 3 percent to its lowest closing level in over a month.

Upscale fashion retailer Nordstrom (JWN) posted a steep loss after reporting weaker than expected third quarter earnings and lowering its full-year guidance. GameStop (GME) and J.C. Penney (JCP) also fell sharply.

Substantial weakness was also visible among networking stocks, as reflected by the 2.2 percent loss posted by the NYSE Arca Networking Index. Cisco (CSCO) led the way lower after reporting better than expected fiscal first quarter results but providing disappointing guidance.

Reflecting weakness in the broader technology sector, internet, computer hardware, and software also moved notably lower.

On the other hand, some chemical, natural gas, and biotech stocks bucked the downtrend by the broader markets. Within the biotech sector, Illumina (ILMN) posted a strong gain on news it will replace Sigma-Aldrich (SIAL) in the S&P 500 Index.

The major averages ended the day firmly in negative territory, just off their lows for the session. The Dow tumbled 202.83 points or 1.2 percent to 17,245.24, the Nasdaq dove 77.20 points or 1.5 percent to 4,927.88 and the S&P 500 slumped 22.93 points or 1.1 percent to 2,023.04.

The sell-off on the day contributed to a sharp drop for the week, with the major averages ending a six-week winning streak. The Nasdaq plunged by 4.3 percent, while the Dow and the S&P 500 plummeted by 3.7 percent and 3.6 percent, respectively.