Major Averages Lingering In Negative Territory In Mid-Day Trading

(RTTNews) - Stocks have moved modestly lower over the course of the trading day on Wednesday after initially showing a lack of direction. The pullback by the markets comes on the heels of the gains seen in the two previous sessions.

Gold stocks have moved sharply lower as the day has progressed, dragging the NYSE Arca Gold Bugs Index down by 1.9 percent. The index is on pace to end the session at its lowest closing level in a month.

The weakness among gold stocks comes amid a modest decrease by the price of the precious metal, with gold for December delivery slipping $1.40 to $1,112.70 an ounce.

Considerable weakness has also emerged among steel stocks, as reflected by the 1.8 percent loss being posted by the NYSE Arca Steel Index. U.S. Steel (X) is posting a steep loss after reporting a wider than expected third quarter loss.

Airline, electronic storage, trucking and networking stocks have also come under pressure over the course of the trading session.

The major averages have moved roughly sideways in recent trading, stuck in the red. The Dow is down 56.29 points or 0.3 percent at 17,861.86, the Nasdaq is down 13.89 points or 0.3 percent at 5,131.23 and the S&P 500 is down 8.02 points or 0.4 percent at 2,101.77.