Major Averages Tumble To Lowest Closing Levels In Over A Month

(RTTNews) - Stocks moved sharply lower over the course of the trading day on Wednesday, adding to the modest weakness seen in the two previous sessions. With the losses on the day, the major averages fell to their lowest closing levels in over a month.

Amid concerns about the impact the Ebola news could have on air travel, airline stocks turned in some of the market's worst performance on the day. Reflecting the weakness in the airline sector, the NYSE Arca Airline Index tumbled by 3.1 percent.

The steep drop extended a recent downward trend by the airline index, which ended the session at its lowest closing level in five months.

Railroad stocks also saw considerable weakness on the day, dragging the Dow Jones Railroads Index down by 2.7 percent to a one-month closing low. Greenbrier (GBX) and Trinity Industries (TRN) posted standout losses.

Significant weakness was also visible among oil service stocks, as reflected by the 2.5 percent loss posted by the Philadelphia Oil Service Index. The weakness in the sector came as crude for November delivery fell $0.43 to $90.73 a barrel.

Steel, chemical, computer hardware and semiconductor stocks also came under pressure amid the broad based weakness in the markets.

The major averages ended the day firmly in negative territory but off their lows for the session. The Dow tumbled 238.19 points or 1.4 percent to 16,804.71, the Nasdaq plunged 71.30 points or 1.6 percent to 4,422.09 and the S&P 500 plummeted 26.13 point or 1.3 percent to 1,946.16.