Major Averages Close Firmly In Negative Territory

(RTTNews) - With traders reacting negatively to the Labor Department's monthly jobs report, stocks moved sharply lower over the course of the trading day on Friday. The significant pullback on the day more than offset the modest gains posted in the previous session.

The weakness on Wall Street came following the release of a Labor Department report showing that stronger than expected job growth pushed the unemployment rate down to a six-year low in February.

While the data paints an upbeat picture regarding the labor market, the report also added to speculation about the Federal Reserve raising interest rates in the near future.

Gold stocks turned in some of the market's worst performances on the day, dragging the NYSE Arca Gold Bugs Index down by 7.5 percent. With the drop, the index fell to its lowest closing level in over two months.

The weakness among gold stocks came amid a steep drop by the price of the precious metal, with gold for April delivery tumbling $31.90 to $1,164.30 an ounce.

Reflecting the concerns about higher interest rates, commercial real estate and utilities stocks also saw significant weakness, with the Morgan Stanley REIT Index and the Dow Jones Utilities Average plunging by 3.3 percent and 3.1 percent, respectively.

Considerable weakness was also visible among oil service stocks, as reflected by the 2.4 percent loss posted by the Philadelphia Oil Service Index. A notable decrease by the price of crude oil contributed to the weakness in the sector.

Electronic storage, housing, and steel stocks also came under notable selling pressure, moving lower along with most of the other major sectors.

The major averages climbed off their worst levels going into the close but remained firmly in the red. The Dow tumbled 278.94 points or 1.5 percent to 17,856.78, the Nasdaq slumped 55.44 points or 1.1 percent to 4,927.37 and the S&P 500 plunged 29.78 points or 1.4 percent to 2,071.26.

For the week, the Nasdaq fell by 0.7 percent, while the Dow and the S&P 500 dropped by 1.5 percent and 1.6 percent, respectively.