After moving sharply lower at the open, stocks have regained some ground over the course of morning trading on Monday but continue to see significant weakness. While the major averages have bounced off their worst levels, they remain firmly in negative territory.
Renewed concerns about the financial situation in Europe contributed to sell-off seen at the start of trading, with traders worried about developments in Spain and Greece.
Disappointing Spanish economic data added to concerns that Spain could require a full bailout, while Germany's Der Spiegel reported that the International Monetary Fund does not want to provide Greece with any additional financing.
Steel stocks continue to see substantial weakness in late morning trading, although they have climbed off their lows for the session. After hitting a nearly one-month intraday low in early trading, the NYSE Arca Steel Index has regained some ground but remains down by 3.1 percent.
Considerable weakness also remains visible among airline stocks, as reflected by the 3.1 percent loss being posted by the NYSE Arca Airline Index. The loss extends a recent downward move by the index, which has fallen to its lowest intraday level in well over a month.
Software, internet, healthcare, and gold stocks also continue to see significant weakness on the day, moving to the downside along with most of the major sectors.
The major averages currently continue to post steep losses but remain well off their lows. The Dow is down 155.15 points or 1.2 percent at 12,667.43, the Nasdaq is down 57.15 points or 2 percent at 2,868.15 and the S&P 500 is down 19.83 points or 1.5 percent at 1,342.83.
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