Dow And S&P 500 Fall To Lowest Levels In Over A Month

(RTTNews) - Stocks saw considerable volatility on Wednesday following the release of the minutes of the latest Federal Reserve meeting before ending the day in the red. The lower close extended a recent downward trend by the markets, with the Dow and the S&P 500 hitting their lowest levels in well over a month.

Despite the volatility shown by the broader markets, gold stocks saw considerable weakness throughout the trading session. The NYSE Arca Gold Bugs Index tumbled by 4.6 percent, more than offsetting yesterday's 3.6 percent gain.

The substantial weakness among gold stocks came amid a relatively modest decrease by the price of the precious metal, with gold for December delivery slipping $2.50 to $1,370.10 an ounce.

Steel stocks also saw significant weakness on the day, dragging the NYSE Arca Steel Index down by 2 percent. Mechel (MTL) and Commercial Metals (CMC) turned in two of the sector's worst performances.

Notable weakness was also visible among networking stocks, as reflected by the 1.3 percent loss posted by the NYSE Arca Networking Index. The loss pulled the index down to its lowest closing level in almost a month.

Utilities, pharmaceutical, and retail stocks also came under pressure, ending the day on the downside along with most of the other major sectors.

The major averages pulled back sharply going into the close, finishing the session firmly in negative territory. The Dow tumbled 105.44 points or 0.7 percent to 14,897.55, the Nasdaq fell 13.80 points or 0.4 percent to 3,599.79 and the S&P 500 slid 9.55 points or 0.6 percent to 1,642.80.