After moving mostly higher over the course of morning trading on Wednesday, stocks have shown a notable move back to the downside in the afternoon. The major averages have pulled back well off their highs for the session and into negative territory.
The pullback by stocks reflects renewed concerns about the outlook for the Federal Reserve's asset purchase program following testimony from Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke and the release of the minutes of the latest Federal Open Market Committee meeting.
While Bernanke told a Congressional committee that prematurely tightening monetary policy carries substantial risk for the economy, he noted that upbeat data could lead the Fed to scale back its asset purchase program in the next few meetings.
Adding to the worries about the central bank slowing the pace of its asset purchases, the minutes of the FOMC meeting said a number of participants expressed willingness to adjust the flow of purchases downward as early as the June meeting.
Commercial real estate stocks have shown a substantial move to the downside on the day, dragging the Morgan Stanley REIT Index down by 2.2 percent. The index reached a five-year intraday high earlier in the session before coming under pressure.
Significant weakness has also emerged among oil service stocks, which are moving lower along with the price of crude oil. With crude for July delivery tumbling $1.85 to $94.33 a barrel, the Philadelphia Oil Service Index is down by 1.8 percent.
Steel, software, internet, and telecom stocks have also come under pressure, moving to the downside along with most of the major sectors.
The major averages have moved roughly sideways in recent trading, lingering near their new lows for the session. The Dow is down 42.62 points or 0.3 percent at 15,344.96, the Nasdaq is down 30.96 points or 0.9 percent at 3,471.17 and the S&P 500 is down 9.48 points or 0.6 percent at 1,659.68.
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