Major Averages Finish The Day Moderately Lower

(RTTNews) - While selling pressure was somewhat subdued, stocks moved moderately lower during trading on Monday. The losses on the day partly offset the strong performance that was turned in by the markets last week.

Reflecting concerns about the outlook for Chinese demand, steel stocks saw substantial weakness on the day. The NYSE Arca Steel Index tumbled by 2 percent but remains stuck in a recent trading range.

Cliffs Natural Resources (CLF) helped to lead the steel sector lower, extending a recent downward move with an 11.2 percent drop.

Gold stocks also saw significant weakness, dragging the NYSE Arca Gold Bugs Index down by 1.9 percent. The weakness in the sector came even though gold for December delivery climbed $4.40 to $1,107.70 an ounce.

Chemical, energy, and computer hardware stocks also moved notably lower on the day, while most of the other major sectors showed more modest moves to the downside.

The major averages ended the day in the red but off their lows for the session. The Dow fell 62.13 points or 0.4 percent to 16,370.96, the Nasdaq slipped 16.58 points or 0.3 percent to 4,805.76 and the S&P 500 dropped 8.02 points or 0.4 percent to 1,953.03.