Your Economy (No Politics)

[Bullwinkle]

Major Averages Close Sharply Lower But Off Worst Levels
by RTT Staff Writer
8/19/2010 4:27 PM ET


(RTTNews) - Stocks saw substantial weakness on Thursday, as a series of disappointing economic reports renewed recent concerns about the economic outlook. The major averages moved sharply lower in morning trading and remained stuck firmly in negative territory throughout the remainder of the session.

The sell-off on Wall Street came following the release of several troubling economic reports, including a report from the Labor Department showing that initial jobless claims rose to their highest level in nine months in the week ended August 14th.

Most of the major sectors showed notable moves to the downside on the day, with airline stocks turning in some of the market's worst performances. The NYSE Arca Airline Index ended the session down by 3.8 percent after closing higher in the five previous sessions.

Delta Airlines (DAL) helped to lead the airline sector lower, falling by 5.1 percent on the day. With the loss, Delta ended the session at an eight-month closing low.

Biotechnology stocks also came under considerable pressure over the course of the trading day, dragging the NYSE Arca Biotechnology Index down by 2.6 percent. Affymetrix (AFFX) posted a particularly steep loss, ending the day down by 9.3 percent.

Defense, healthcare, housing, and banking stocks also posted notable losses, reflecting the broad based weakness in the markets. On the other hand, some internet stocks bucked the downtrend on the news of the McAfee acquisition.

While the major averages ended the day off their worst levels, they still posted steep losses. The Dow plummeted 144.33 points or 1.4 percent to 10,271.21, the Nasdaq fell 36.75 points or 1.7 percent to 2,178.95 and the S&P 500 dropped 18.53 points or 1.7 percent to 1,075.63.

http://www.rttnews.com/Content/USMarketUpdate.aspx?Node=B5