After initially showing a lack of direction, stocks have moved mostly lower over the course of the trading day on Friday. The losses on the day are partly offsetting the strong move to the upside that was seen in the previous session.
The major averages have climbed off their lows for the session in recent trading but remain firmly in the red. The Dow is down 70.69 points or 0.5 percent at 15,105.39, the Nasdaq is down 16.00 points or 0.5 percent at 3,429.37 and the S&P 500 is down 6.44 points or 0.4 percent at 1,629.92.
The weakness that has emerged on Wall Street is partly due to news that the International Monetary Fund lowered its outlook for U.S. economic growth in 2014.
The IMF said it now expects the U.S. economy to expand by 2.7 percent in 2014 compared to the 3 percent growth that it forecast in April.
The lender reaffirmed its forecast for 1.9 percent growth in 2013, although that would reflect a slowdown from the 2.2 percent growth seen in 2012.
"The United States could spur growth by adopting a more balanced and gradual pace of fiscal consolidation, especially at a time when monetary policy has limited room to support the recovery further," the IMF said.
Negative sentiment was also generated by a report from the Federal Reserve showing that industrial production unexpectedly came in unchanged in May.
The Fed said industrial production came in flat in May following a revised 0.4 percent decrease in April. Economists had expected production to rise by 0.2 percent.
Rob Carnell, chief international economist at ING, said, "The headline production figure would have been better but for another drag from utilities, and we expect some bounce from this sector in the coming months."
"Nonetheless, this was not a great figure, and reinforces our sense that the run of data in the U.S., though stronger than might have been expected some months ago, is rather mixed," he added.
The Labor Department also reported a bigger than expected increase in producer prices in May, while Reuters and the University of Michigan released a report showing an unexpected drop in consumer sentiment in June.
Sector News
Biotechnology stocks have shown a notable move to the downside on the day, dragging the NYSE Arca Biotechnology Index down by 1.3 percent.
Myriad Genetics (MYGN) is leading the biotech sector lower, falling by 7 after yesterday's Supreme Court ruling rejecting patents on naturally-occurring human genes.
Brokerage and banking stocks are also seeing significant weakness, with the NYSE Arca Broker/Dealer Index and the KBW Bank Index both falling by 1.1 percent.
Most of the other major sectors have also moved lower over the course of the session, although selling pressure has remained relatively subdued.
Other Markets
In overseas trading, stock markets across the Asia-Pacific region moved mostly higher during trading on Friday. Japan's Nikkei 225 Index surged up by 1.9 percent following yesterday's sell-off, while Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index rose by 0.4 percent.
The major European markets also moved to the upside on the day. While the German DAX Index advanced by 0.4 percent, the French CAC 40 Index and the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index edged up by 0.2 percent and 0.1 percent, respectively.
In the bond market, treasuries are seeing considerable strength, extending yesterday's upward move. Subsequently, the yield on the benchmark ten-year note, which moves opposite of its price, is down by 7 basis points at 2.104 percent.
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