With retail stocks leading the way lower, stocks are seeing significant weakness in late morning trading on Friday. The major averages have all moved firmly into negative territory, partly offsetting the gains posted in the two previous sessions.
Retail stocks are turning in some of the market's worst performances, with Gap (GPS) and Aeropostale (ARO) posting particularly steep losses after providing disappointing guidance. Shares of Gap and Aeropostale are down by 17.1 percent and 18.2 percent, respectively.
Significant weakness has also emerged among health insurance stocks, as reflected by the 1.3 percent loss currently being shown by the Morgan Stanley Healthcare Payor Index. The index is giving back some ground after ending Thursday's trading at a new record closing high.
Healthcare provider, steel, and defense stocks are also posting notable losses on the day, moving to the downside along with most of the major sectors. On the other hand, some strength is visible among electronic storage and natural gas stocks.
The major averages currently remain firmly in the red but have climbed well off their worst levels of the day. The Dow is down 92.48 points or 0.7 percent at 12,512.84, the Nasdaq is down 23.52 points or 0.8 percent at 2,799.79 and the S&P 500 is down 9.69 points or 0.7 percent at 1,333.91.
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May 08, 2026 15:50 ET Manufacturing and services sector survey results and labor market data from main economies were the highlight on the economics news front this week. Factory orders and jobs report dominated the news flow in the U.S. Similarly, industrial production data from German garnered attention in Europe. In Asia, purchasing managers’ survey results from China and the central bank decision from Australia were in focus.