While selling pressure has waned from earlier in the session, stocks continue to see significant weakness in mid-afternoon trading on Wednesday. The major averages have climbed well off their worst levels of the day but remain stuck in the red.
The sell-off seen over the course of morning trading came as traders expressed continued concerns about the financial situation in Europe. Traders seem particularly worried about the potential impact of Greece leaving the eurozone.
The worries came as European leaders are holding a summit in Brussels, although there have not been any major headlines out of the meeting thus far.
Disappointing earnings news from Dell (DELL) also contributed to pullback on Wall Street, and the PC giant continues to post a steep loss after reporting weaker than expected first quarter results and providing disappointing second quarter revenue guidance.
Computer hardware stocks continue to see significant weakness following the news from Dell, while considerable weakness also remains visible among brokerage, software, and pharmaceutical stocks.
Meanwhile, gold stocks have shown a substantial turnaround on the day, driving the NYSE Arca Gold Bugs Index up by 2.1 percent. The strength that has emerged among gold stocks comes despite a sharp drop by the price of the precious metal.
The major averages have moved roughly sideways in recent trading, lingering firmly in negative territory. The Dow is down 128.51 points or 1 percent at 12,374.30, the Nasdaq is down 21.15 points or 0.7 percent at 2,817.93 and the S&P 500 is down 12.02 points or 0.9 percent at 1,304.61.
by RTT Staff Writer
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