2/10/2012 12:01 PM ET
(RTTNews) - Stocks continue to see considerable weakness in mid-day trading on Friday after showing a notable move to the downside early in the session. Renewed concerns about the financial situation in Greece are weighing on the markets.
The major averages have moved roughly sideways in recent trading, lingering firmly in negative territory. The Dow is down 108.30 points or 0.8 percent at 12,782.16, the Nasdaq is down 18.81 points or 0.6 percent at 2,908.42 and the S&P 500 is down 9.51 points or 0.7 percent at 1,342.44.
The sell-off seen at the start of trading came on the heels of news that European finance ministers were unimpressed with the austerity agreement reached by Greek political leaders on Thursday, calling for an additional 325 million euros in savings.
The other eurozone countries are also calling for guarantees that the measures will be implemented before signing off on a new 130 billion euro bailout for the debt-plagued nation.
A report showing a notable drop in Chinese imports in the month of January has also contributed to the weakness on Wall Street, with the data raising concerns about the level demand in the communist country.
The report showed that the value of Chinese imports in January was down 15.3 percent compared to the same month a year ago.
Further selling pressure was generated by the release of a report from Reuters and the University of Michigan showing that U.S. consumer sentiment has deteriorated by more than expected in the month of February.
The report showed that the consumer sentiment index dropped to a reading of 72.5 in February from January's final reading of 75.0. Economists had been expecting the index to edge down to 74.8.
A separate report from the Commerce Department showed that the U.S. trade deficit came in wider than expected in the month of December, with the value of imports increasing at a faster rate than the value of exports.
Among individual stocks, shares of Activision Blizzard (ATVI) are under pressure after the video game maker reported better than expected fourth quarter results but provided disappointing first quarter guidance. Activision Blizzard is currently down by 2.5 percent.
Meanwhile, NYSE Euronext (NYX) is up by 3.1 percent after reporting fourth quarter adjusted earnings of $0.50 per share compared to $0.46 per share a year ago. Revenues, excluding transaction-based expenses, rose 2 percent to $628 million. The results were better than expected.
Sector News
With traders expressing concerns about the outlook for global demand, steel stocks have come under considerable selling pressure on the day. The NYSE Arca Steel Index has tumbled by 2.6 percent, pulling back further off the six-month closing high it set last Friday.
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