Major Averages Remain Firmly In The Red In Mid-Day Trading

(RTTNews) - After coming under pressure early in the session, stocks continue to see significant weakness in mid-day trading on Friday. The losses on the day come after the major averages ended the previous session on opposite sides of the unchanged line.

While most of the major sectors have come under pressure on the day, steel stocks have shown a particularly steep drop. Reflecting the weakness in the sector, the NYSE Arca Steel Index has plunged by 3.3 percent.

Schnitzer Steel (SCHN), AK Steel (AKS), and ArcelorMittal (MT) are turning in some of the steel sector's worst performances.

Gold stocks also continue to see considerable weakness in mid-day trading, with the NYSE Arca Gold Bugs Index tumbling by 2.5 percent. The weakness in the sector comes as gold for December delivery is falling $4.70 to $1,119.80 an ounce.

Significant weakness also remains visible among banking stocks, as reflected by the 2.1 percent loss being posted by the Dow Jones Banks Index. Wells Fargo (WFC) and JP Morgan (JPM) are posting steep losses.

Energy, telecom, pharmaceutical, and software stocks are also seeing notable weakness, while airline stocks are among the few groups bucking the downtrend.

The major averages have moved roughly sideways in recent trading, stuck firmly in negative territory. The Dow is down 256.35 points or 1.6 percent at 16,118.41, the Nasdaq is down 39.24 points or 0.8 percent at 4,694.26 and the S&P 500 is down 27.16 points or 1.4 percent at 1,923.97.