Major Averages Climb Off Worst Levels But Remain In The Red

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

While many of the major sectors have recovered from their worst levels of the day, biotechnology stocks continue to see significant weakness in mid-day trading. The NYSE Arca Biotechnology Index has climbed off its lows but remains down by 1.7 percent.

Nektar Therapeutics (NKTR), Myriad Genetics (MYGN), and Incyte (INCY) are turning in some of the biotech sector's worst performances.

Considerable weakness also remains visible among airline stocks, as reflected by the 1.4 percent loss being posted by the NYSE Arca Airline Index.

The weakness in the airline sector comes after Deutsche Bank downgraded Delta (DAL), United Continental (UAL), and American Airlines (AAL) to Hold from Buy.

Health care, steel, and trucking stocks also continue to see notable weakness, while gold stocks have moved sharply higher along with the price of the precious metal.

Currently, the major averages are posting moderate losses on the day. The Dow is down 77.50 points or 0.4 percent at 17,698.62, the Nasdaq is down 25.98 points or 0.5 percent at 4,874.91 and the S&P 500 is down 7.65 points or 0.4 percent at 2,060.24.