Major Averages Remain Firmly Negative In Mid-Day Trading

(RTTNews) - Stocks have moved sharply lower over the course of the trading day on Friday, partly offsetting the upward trend seen over the past several sessions. Worries about the situation in Ukraine are weighing on the markets along with some disappointing earnings news.

Semiconductor stocks are turning in some of the market's worst performances in mid-day trading, with the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index plunging by 2.7 percent. The index is giving back ground after trending higher over the past two weeks.

Freescale Semiconductor (FSL) is leading the semiconductor sector lower, with the chipmaker tumbling by 12.2 percent despite reporting better than expected first quarter results.

Considerable weakness is also visible among biotechnology stocks, as reflected by the 2.1 percent loss being posted by the NYSE Arca Biotechnology Index. ImmunoGen (IMGN) is falling sharply after reporting a wider than expected first quarter loss.

Housing stocks have also come under significant selling pressure on the day, dragging the Philadelphia Housing Sector Index down by 1.7 percent. Building product makers Masco (MAS) is posting a substantial loss after reporting first quarter earnings that missed analyst estimates.

Networking, airline, retail, and steel stocks are also seeing notable weakness, while gold stocks are among the few groups bucking the downtrend amid an increase by the price of the precious metal.

The major averages have recently climbed off their worst levels of the day but remain firmly in negative territory. The Dow is down 128.95 points or 0.8 percent at 16,372.70, the Nasdaq is down 58.14 points or 1.4 percent at 4,090.19 and the S&P 500 is down 12.83 points or 0.7 percent.