Major Averages Pull Back Firmly Into Negative Territory

(RTTNews) - After initially moving higher, stocks have pulled back rather sharply over the course of early trading on Thursday. The major averages have pulled back well off their highs for the young session and into negative territory.

Upbeat earnings news from companies such as Facebook (FB) contributed to the initial strength on Wall Street, although buying interest waned not long after the open.

Concerns about the outlook for interest rates likely contributed to the subsequent pullback after Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen's comments on Wednesday.

In testimony before the House Financial Services Committee, Yellen said a December interest rate would be a "live possibility" if the incoming economic data supports such a move.

As a result, traders are likely to keep a particularly close eye on the Labor Department's monthly jobs report due to be released tomorrow morning.

Telecom stocks have shown a substantial move to the downside on the day, dragging the NYSE Arca Telecom Index down by 7.7 percent. Qualcomm (QCOM) is leading the sector lower after providing disappointing first quarter guidance.

Gold, steel, biotechnology, and oil service stocks have also come under pressure, contributing to the pullback by the broader markets.

The major averages have seen some further downside in recent trading, falling to new lows for the session. The Dow is down 73.56 points or 0.4 percent at 17,794.02, the Nasdaq is down 38.63 points or 0.8 percent at 5,103.84 and the S&P 500 is down 10.21 points or 0.5 percent at 2,092.10.