Stocks have moved mostly lower over the course of morning trading on Tuesday after failing to sustain an initial upward move. The major averages have slid into negative territory, adding to the moderate losses posted in the previous session.
While a positive reaction to the latest batch of earnings news helped to drive stocks higher at the open, the markets came under pressure as Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke began his testimony before the Senate Banking Committee.
Bernanke reiterated that the central bank is prepared to take further action if the economy continues to struggle, but traders once again seemed disappointed that the Fed Chief's remarks did not indicate that further stimulus was imminent.
Trucking stocks have shown a substantial move to the downside on the day, dragging the Dow Jones Trucking Index down by 3.9 percent. J. B. Hunt (JBHT) has helped to lead the sector lower after reporting weaker than expected second quarter revenues.
Significant weakness has also emerged among networking stocks, as reflected by the 3 percent loss being posted by the NYSE Arca Networking Index. Alcatel-Lucent (ALU) is posting a particularly steep loss after warning that it will not meet its full year profit margin guidance.
Gold, semiconductor, and housing stocks have also come under pressure, moving lower along with most of the major sectors.
The major averages have bounced off their lows for the session in recent trading but currently remain in the red. The Dow is down 39.96 points or 0.3 percent at 12,687.25, the Nasdaq is down 14.39 points or 0.5 percent at 2,882.55 and the S&P 500 is down 3.14 points or 0.2 percent at 1,350.50.
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