Major Averages Finish Choppy Trading Session Slightly Lower

(RTTNews) - After trending higher over the past few sessions, stocks turned in a relatively lackluster performance during trading on Wednesday. The major averages spent the day bouncing back and forth across the unchanged line.

Oil service stocks moved sharply lower on the day, dragging the Philadelphia Oil Service Index down by 4 percent. With the steep drop, the index fell to its lowest closing level in almost four months.

The sell-off by oil service stocks came amid a significant decrease by the price of crude oil, with crude for August delivery tumbling $1.63 to $51.41 a barrel.

Considerable weakness also emerged among gold stocks, as reflected by the 2.4 percent loss posted by the NYSE Arca Gold Bugs Index. The index fell to a twelve-year low, as gold for August delivery slid $6.10 to $1,147.20 an ounce.

Steel, natural gas, and trucking stocks also came under pressure on the day, while notable strength was visible among banking stocks.

At the close of trading, the major averages were in negative territory but well off their worst levels. The Dow edged down 3.41 points or less than a tenth of a percent to 18,050.17, the Nasdaq dipped 5.95 points or 0.1 percent to 5,098.94 and the S&P 500 slipped 1.55 points or 0.1 percent to 2,107.40.