After showing a lack of direction in morning trading on Friday, stocks showed another notable move to the downside over the course of the afternoon. The pullback by the markets came as traders were reluctant to hold positions going into the weekend.
The continued weakness on Wall Street came despite a lack of major catalysts, with the drop reflecting the recent downward momentum for the markets.
Most of the major sectors moved to the downside over the course of the day, with significant weakness visible among computer hardware stocks. Reflecting the weakness in the computer hardware sector, the NYSE Arca Computer Hardware Index fell by 2.3 percent to a four-month closing low.
Western Digital (WDC) and Seagate Technology (STX) posted steep losses, while Hewlett Packard also ended the day in the red amid reports that the PC giant plans to cut up to 30,000 jobs.
Biotech stocks also came under considerable selling pressure, dragging the NYSE Arca Biotechnology Index down by 2.2 percent. Sequenom (SQNM) helped to lead the biotech sector lower, tumbling by 10.9 percent on news of the termination of a coverage agreement with Coventry Health Care (CVH).
Semiconductor, health insurance, steel, and airline stocks also posted steep losses, reflecting the broad based weakness that emerged on Wall Street.
The major averages all ended the day firmly in negative territory, at their worst closing levels in four months. The Dow fell 73.11 points or 0.6 percent to 12,369.38, the Nasdaq plunged 34.90 points or 1.2 percent to 2,778.79 and the S&P 500 slid 9.64 points or 0.7 percent to 1,295.22.
With the losses on the day, the major averages all fell sharply for the week. The Dow dropped by 3.5 percent, while the Nasdaq and the S&P 500 tumbled by 5.3 percent and 4.3 percent, respectively.
For comments and feedback: editorial@rttnews.com