While selling pressure has remained subdued, stocks are seeing modest weakness in late morning trading on Monday. The major averages have slid somewhat firmly into negative territory, partly offsetting the gains posted last week.
The modest weakness that has emerged on Wall Street is partly due to profit taking following the recent strength in the markets, which lifted the major averages to their highest levels in over three months.
A negative reaction to quarterly results from Lowe's (LOW) may also be generating some negative sentiment. Shares of Lowe's are down by 5.1 percent after the home improvement retailer reported weaker than expected second quarter results and provided disappointing guidance.
Housing stocks have shown a notable move to the downside following the news from Lowe's, with the Philadelphia Housing Sector Index down by 1.5 percent. With the loss, the index is pulling back further off last Friday's nearly four-year closing high.
Electronic storage, networking, and gold stocks have also come under pressure over the course of the morning. The weakness among gold stocks comes amid a modest decrease by the price of the precious metal.
The major averages have climbed well off their lows for the session in recent trading but remain in the red. The Dow is down 27.91 points or 0.2 percent at 13,247.29, the Nasdaq is down 10.99 points or 0.4 percent at 3,065.60 and the S&P 500 is down 4.02 points or 0.3 percent at 1,414.14.
by RTT Staff Writer
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