Major Averages Close Lower For Fifth Consecutive Session

(RTTNews) - Stocks saw some volatility over the course of the trading session on Thursday but eventually ended the day firmly in negative territory. The losses on the day extended a recent downtrend, with the major averages closing lower for the fifth straight session.

While most of the major sectors ended the day lower, housing stocks showed a substantial move to the downside. The Philadelphia Housing Sector Index plummeted 3.5 percent, pulling back further off the seven-year closing high it set on Monday.

Lennar (LEN) helped to lead the housing sector lower, with the homebuilder tumbling by 7.2 percent after reporting better than expected fourth quarter earnings but forecasting a drop in margins.

Considerable weakness also emerged among oil service stocks, as reflected by the 3 percent loss posted by the Philadelphia Oil Service Index. With the loss, the index fell to its lowest closing level in well over three years.

Banking stocks also saw significant weakness on the day, dragging the Dow Jones Banks Index down by 2.4 percent. Bank of America (BAC) and Citigroup (C) turned in two of the sector's worst performances after reporting disappointing earnings.

Internet, networking, brokerage, and biotechnology stocks also came under pressure on the day, while gold stocks bucked the downtrend amid a sharp jump by the price of the precious metal.

The major averages finished the day at their lowest closing levels in about a month. The Dow slid 106.38 points or 0.6 percent to 17,320.71, the Nasdaq tumbled 68.50 points or 1.5 percent to 4,570.82 and the S&P 500 fell 18.60 points or 0.9 percent to 1,992.67.