Major Averages Climb Off Lows But Remain In The Red

(RTTNews) - After coming pressure early in the session, stocks have regained some ground over the course of the trading day on Monday. The major averages have climbed well off their worst levels of the day but remain in the red.

Despite the recovery attempt by the broader markets, substantial weakness remains visible among utilities stocks. Reflecting the weakness in the utilities sector, the Dow Jones Utilities Average is down by 2.4 percent.

Nextera Energy (NEE), FirstEnergy (FE), and Edison International (EIX) are turning in some of the utilities sector's worst performances.

Gold stocks also continue to see considerable weakness, with the NYSE Arca Gold Bugs Index down by 1.3 percent. The weakness in the sector comes amid a modest decrease by the price of gold.

Biotechnology and healthcare stocks are also seeing some weakness on the day, although selling pressure has waned from earlier in the session.

On the other hand, oil service stocks have shown a strong move to the upside, driving the Philadelphia Oil Service Index up by 2.1 percent. The strength in the sector comes as crude oil for October delivery is climbing $2.02 to $47.24 a barrel.

Electronic storage and natural gas stocks are also seeing significant strength, helping to limit the downside for the broader markets.

Currently, the major averages are posting moderate losses. The Dow is down 42.23 points or 0.3 percent at 16,600.78, the Nasdaq is down 13.52 points or 0.3 percent at 4,814.80 and the S&P 500 is down 6.54 points or 0.3 percent at 1,982.33.