Major Averages Close Lower For The Day, Mixed For The Week

(RTTNews) - After coming under pressure early in the session, stocks remained firmly in the red through the trading session on Friday. The losses on the day party offset the gains posted in the two previous sessions, although the major averages remained well off Tuesday's lows.

Biotechnology stocks showed a significant move to the downside on the day, dragging the NYSE Arca Biotechnology Index down by 1.8 percent.

Agios Pharmaceuticals (AGIO) led the biotech sector lower, tumbling by 10.2 percent despite reporting an impressive response rate for its leukemia treatment.

Considerable weakness also emerged among natural gas stocks, as reflected by the 1.3 percent loss posted by the NYSE Arca Natural Gas Index. With the drop, the index fell to its lowest closing level in well over two months.

The losses by natural gas stocks came amid a decrease by the price of their associated commodity, with natural gas for July delivery falling $0.075 to $2.75 per million BTUs.

Oil, health care, and trucking stocks also came under pressure on the day, while most of the major sectors showed more modest moves to the downside.

Airline stocks bucked the downtrend, however, resulting in a 1.1 percent gain by the NYSE Arca Airline Index. The index continued to recover from the six-month closing low set on Tuesday.

The major averages moved roughly sideways in afternoon trading, stuck in negative territory. The Dow ended the day down 140.53 points or 0.8 percent at 17,898.84, the Nasdaq fell 31.41 points or 0.6 percent to 5,051.10 and the S&P 500 slid 14.75 points or 0.7 percent to 2,094.11.

For the week, the major averages turned in a mixed performance. While the Nasdaq dipped by 0.3 percent, the Dow rose by 0.3 percent and the S&P 500 edged up by 0.1 percent.