Major Averages Slide Into Negative Territory In Early Trading

(RTTNews) - Stocks have moved moderately lower in early trading on Thursday after showing big swings back and forth over the course of the two previous sessions. The major averages have slid into negative territory but remain well off Tuesday's lows.

The early weakness on Wall Street partly reflects ongoing uncertainty about the situation in Greece as well as an overnight sell-off by Chinese stocks.

A report from the National Association of Realtors showing a jump in pending home sales may also be weighing on the markets amid continued concerns about the outlook for interest rates.

Steel stocks have shown a significant move to the downside, dragging the NYSE Arca Steel Index down by 2 percent. With the drop, the index has fallen to its lowest intraday level in over a month.

Considerable weakness has also emerged among oil service stocks, with the Philadelphia Oil Service Index falling by 1.7 percent. The weakness in the sector comes as crude oil for July delivery is sliding $0.42 to $57.09 a barrel.

Railroad, trucking, and natural gas stocks are also seeing early weakness, while electronic storage stocks are bucking the downtrend.

In recent trading, the major averages have seen some further downside, hitting new lows for the young session. The Dow is down 92.53 points or 0.5 percent at 18,067.76, the Nasdaq is down 25.48 points or 0.5 percent at 5,081.11 and the S&P 500 is down 10.43 points or 0.5 percent at 2,113.05.