Major Averages In The Red In Mid-Day Trading

(RTTNews) - After initially showing a lack of direction, stocks have moved mostly lower over the course of the trading day on Tuesday. Selling pressure has remained relatively subdued, however, limiting the downside for the markets.

Airline stocks have shown a significant move to the downside on the day, dragging the NYSE Arca Airline Index down by 1.7 percent. Delta (DAL) and United Continental (UAL) are turning in two of the sector's worst performances.

Considerable weakness also remains visible among biotechnology stocks, as reflected by the 1.3 percent loss being posted by the NYSE Arca Biotechnology Index. With the loss, the index has fallen to its lowest intraday level in almost a month.

Healthcare, housing, and brokerage stocks are also seeing some weakness in mid-day trading, while most of the other major sectors are showing more modest moves.

The major averages have recently climbed off their lows for the session but remain in the red. The Dow is down 29.64 points or 0.2 percent at 15,854.93, the Nasdaq is down 10.47 points or 0.3 percent at 4,019.04 and the S&P 500 is down 7.22 points or 0.4 percent at 1,779.32.